Neil Humphreys: Don’t blame Singapore auntie for crazy Elon Musk scam
It’s not Elon Musk’s fault that he sounds like a cheap perfume at a pasar malam.
And it’s certainly not a Singaporean auntie’s fault that she lost almost $600,000 in a scam associated with him.
To be clear, Musk was not actually involved with the scam. He’s far too busy being a cross between a James Bond villain and that kid in class who’s always angry because no one “gets” his sense of humour.
But it’s not a huge stretch to see why someone might fall prey to a scam that claimed she was supporting the finances of Musk, Donald Trump and Mark Zuckerberg — a trio that can feel less human than those metal skeletons in Terminator.
According to reports, sisters Faith and Sarah Phua were shocked to discover that their 75-year-old mother had sent money to scammers, believing that she was helping to save Musk’s company from ruin.
Apparently, the scammers’ initial pitch was to help save Musk’s hairline from ruin. But no one was falling for that one. Musk’s scalp has endured more transplants than Frankenstein.
The sisters were also stunned to discover that the scammers had fooled their mother by using artificial intelligence to impersonate Musk.
Presumably, the software combined the personalities of Dr Evil, Scooby-Doo and that creepy uncle who makes inappropriate comments at the bus stop.
In fairness, using AI to impersonate Musk was an ingenious move. Just a cursory glance at his social media feeds suggests a certain detachment from reality. Some might even say “unhinged”.
Indeed, the only way to truly replicate his tweets would be to pass a laptop to a long-tailed macaque.
Blame the scammers, not the victim
Some insensitive critics have unfairly maligned and mocked the Singaporean auntie for falling for the scam.
She is the innocent victim here, deserving of nothing but sympathy and kindness.
We’re losing sight of the real villains — the scammers — and the clever tools they use — Musk, Trump and Zuckerberg.
The common question is: how could anyone be fooled by a scam built on our perceptions of Musk, Trump and Zuckerberg?
But perhaps a better question is: what do those perceptions say about why such scams work?
When he’s not making headlines performing Nazi salutes at political events (allegedly), Musk is either claiming that the United States had “magic money computers” capable of sending US funds to anywhere in the world, or he’s suggesting that he once challenged Russian leader Vladimir Putin to physical combat.
Meanwhile, Zuckerberg is still winning “the least human-looking man” competition since the introduction of the Ken doll. There’s a rumour that Zuckerberg can now independently move his eyes from left to right, like an action figure, but that’s been hard to verify since Meta ended its third-party, fact-checking programme.
Such cost-cutting measures make it clear why Zuckerberg could use a little financial assistance from a Singaporean auntie.
And Trump is, well, Trump. At this point, making fun of the American President is like shooting fish in a barrel, then bombing the barrel, raising the price of the barrel, and then demanding that the rest of the world pay for, and defend, the bombed barrel.
If this continues, we might need a financial assistance scam to pay for our petrol.
Our empathy should extend only to the victims and not the odious cretins on the other end of the line.
So it’s easy to see how a Singaporean auntie could fall for a scam that only needs to suggest that Musk, Trump and Zuckerberg are facing certain “challenges”. An A-Level psychology student could show that Musk, Trump and Zuckerberg are facing certain challenges.
By all means, hate the game, but not the duped player. Our empathy should extend only to the victims and not the odious cretins on the other end of the line.
Last year, scam losses in Singapore hit $913 million. While slightly lower than the record $1.1 billion in 2024, it still means far too many people are being scammed, far too often.
We’re all more vulnerable than we think
And we’ve all been there. Or at least, almost.
My late father-in-law was the luckiest man in history because he won the Irish lottery 27 times, via email. He was even luckier, when you consider that he’d never bought an Irish lottery ticket in his life.
Recently, I received a government call about my tax return, which freaked me out because I really am in the middle of filing my taxes. I immediately started thinking about my receipts. Yes, those early-morning taxi rides to Geylang were legitimate work expenses. I visit many schools there.
And yes, the “IRAS staff member” did sound more like an ah long than a civil servant and referred to me as “Mr Dumpwee”, but I was halfway along the scam when he suddenly introduced more figures than a Donald Trump beauty pageant.
And then I fell about laughing at the absurdity of it all. I’m an author, not Elon Musk.
But as scam tactics evolve, fewer of us will be immune to the syndicates’ increasingly elaborate schemes.
So let’s not be smug or complacent. Be supportive. Keep an eye on vulnerable family members and remind them that their savings are not for funding a billionaire’s latest vanity project.
Our elders should be spending their life savings on the things that really matter, such as retirement, healthcare or half a tank of petrol.
Neil Humphreys is an award-winning writer and MONEY FM radio host, a successful author and a failed footballer.
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