I received a msg thru my number regarding loan promotions, i was attracted by it and decided to contact a person named ricky thru whatsapp and enquire abt the loan. I applied for a 20k loan and thereafter gave ricky my income statements a photo of my nric and my next of kin details and my bank acc number. After a few hrs, ricky called me thru whatsapp to inform me that the loan has been approved. He then told me that his company will transfer me a sum of $300 and after a wk i had to return $500, this is to test whether i have the ability to pay back the loan on time a.k.a trial loan.

I returned the $500 5 days (on 12 ma), to a posb sav acc stated in the details, however, Ricky told me that i had made a wrong transfer as i did not indicate “ricky clear” as the reference name, he then requested me to transfer another $500 to the same bank acc, and he also told me that the $500 i had paid extra would be credited back to me tgt with the 20k loan after i sign the agreement. I did as he told me and transferred a sum of $500 to him, thereafter, he explained to me that there is an admin fee that i had to pay before i could get the loan, this admin fee is 10% of the loan amt, which is $2000, however, i explained to him that i didnt had enough money and could only fork out $1100, he said he would help me think of ways to help me temporarily pay the remaining $900 of admin fee, after that he msg me and told me that he managed to lend $900 from his wife, and wanted me to pay the $1100 from my acc, while he pay $900 for me, he told me not to tell anyone as helping clients to pay funds is illegal, and also told me to return him immediately after i get the loan.

The next day, he told me that his manager found out about the funds and questioned him, and also confiscated the funds until i could fork out the remaining $900. I took around 5 days to raise the $900 and transferred him, he also promised me that there would not be anymore issues. However, the next day, he messaged me again to say that the funds could not be drawn out as it is under a red column.

Knowin that something was wrong, I called the police after that.

Editor's Note: Please note that licensed moneylenders are not allowed to advertise their services online, via messaging apps or SMS. They are registered with the Ministry of Law's Registry of Moneylenders (see list here: https://rom.mlaw.gov.sg/files/ML List as at 1 May 2020.pdf).

Some scammers may claim to be staff working for licensed moneylenders so the safest way is to get in touch with the moneylender via the contact number published on the website or to visit the physical office.