Woman makes 'blood pact' to wed 'Romeo Tan', loses savings of $5,500 to scammer impersonating the actor
The 46-year-old part-timer lost most of her savings to the scam, which was only brought to light when she tried to borrow money from her sister.
It was almost all of her savings, and she lost them to a scammer impersonating Romeo Tan, believing that she was to wed the local actor. The victim, a 46-year-old woman who works part-time, had been in contact with the scammer since December last year.
Her 39-year-old sister, an auditor identified as Ms Yan, provided Lianhe Zaobao with screenshots of the WhatsApp conversation between the victim and the scammer. It was reported that the pair exchanged photos before the fake Tan said he wanted to marry her in New York, but asked for $3,000 for the ‘marriage certificate’.
In an attempt to further gain her trust, he sent a photo showing that he had pricked his fingertips and had made a "blood pact". He then asked the victim to do the same, telling her, "This is not a game, you must keep your promise."
After receiving the $3,000, the scammer showered the victim with promises of getting her a diamond ring and a car when she arrived in New York. Before that, though, she had to send $2,000 to his ‘manager’ in order for them to apply for a permit and get a plane ticket.
Upon contacting the ‘manager’, the victim was told to pay the $2,000 in the form of gaming cards. However, the victim told the scammer that some convenience stores were sold out of cards while others stopped selling them due to scams.
In response, the scammer sent her the address of convenience stores which still had stock, and taught her to tell the staff that she was buying it for her children should they ask. Whenever the victim had doubts, the scammer would remind her of their "blood pact" and said if she really loved him, she would find a way to buy the cards.
Tried to borrow from her sister
As the victim didn’t have enough money, she attempted to borrow money from her sister. That was how her family discovered what was happening.
Yan also found out that apart from the $3,000 for the ‘marriage certificate’, her sister had transferred an additional $2,500 as a ‘membership fee’. This nearly wiped out all her savings.
According to Yan, the victim is mentally unstable, and didn’t believe her family when they said it was a scam. The former also made a police report on behalf of her older sister and local police are currently investigating.
Yan believes that the scammer may have contacted her sister through the comments section of Romeo Tan’s posts. She observed that her sister would leave comments on his posts, and some fans would impersonate him and respond to her.
She said, “These scammers will only pursue vulnerable parties who are easy to deceive. They have no ability to protect themselves, and their families are the most directly affected. I hope that as a public figure, Romeo Tan can properly manage his Facebook page."
Romeo Tan addresses the situation
Tan, 38, posted a clarification on his account on Tuesday (16 Jan) and wrote, “As a public figure, I have been continuously reporting all the impersonating accounts. I kindly request all my followers and friends to be vigilant and report any suspicious accounts on my behalf.
“I apologise to those who have been affected by such accounts. Thank you for your co-operation and understanding.”
The victim also contacted Lianhe Zaobao after seeing the post and admitted that she had been scammed and expressed regret over transferring the two large sums of money.
She said, “I had a video call with him but he looked 'wooden' when he spoke. I have been a fan of Romeo for more than 10 years, and I didn't expect him to be a liar.”
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