i was attracted to a message saying i could borrow 10k with a repayment for 60mths. so i was curious and texted the number to enquire. and very quickly someone by the name of TH responded and said in order to start the process, he will bank in 500 into my account and then in return, i was to transfer 800 to them in a couple of days, this is to set up the account and show some kind of track record. he asked for an a picture of my IC front and back . and a screenshot of my cpf contributions. a video call was then made to verify i am the person showing on the ic but their screen was blocked out so i couldnt see who i was dealing with . it didnt feel right and i looked up the registry of licensed moneylenders and found their name on the list. i was also convinced to borrow more, the amount would be 30k because my cpf showed that i was earning a significant amount. it was 550x 60mths, this was a loan that was as good as my renovation loan and it seemed really attractive. 3 days later, i received the call and i sent 800, they were about to process the loan and told me everything was ready and it was ready to be dispersed, i was then told to transfer 1680 as a transaction fee. that was when i knew it was a fake. i told them i didnt have the money and cannot transfer that amount and i didnt want to take the loan anymore, they said, not to worry and sent me an agreement letter. to show that everything was legitimate but the legal document once again did not look right and i told them, no, i did not want the loan. i was then threatened and was told i have to pay a cancelation fee of 20%, which did not make sense when i did not sign anything. he kept threatening and said once this is cancelled, it will be handled by a different department and he wouldn't know how they will handle this. i kept insisting that i did not want the loan and he said he will call me back. i have since blocked their number. and reported it to the police.

Editor's Note: Some scammers will claim to be from a licensed moneylender to fool people into taking up loans with them. To be sure, pls call the official number shown in the Registry or visit the actual office to find out more. Note that licensed moneylenders are NOT allowed to advertise their service online, via messaging apps and SMS.