Experienced investor loses $400k after downloading fake investment app from Apple Store
Claudia Tan
The Straits Times
Jan 29, 2026
A woman lost about $400,000 after she was convinced to invest in stocks through a fraudulent investment platform.
She was earlier added into a WhatsApp group chat, whose members – some of whom turned out to be scammers – would send messages about "profits" they earned via the investment app.
They would also share investment tips daily, leading her to believe that it was genuine.
Over the course of two months, Ms Lim (not her real name), who is in her 50s, made more than 60 transfers to the fake platform, and even handed cash to the scammers on two occasions.
She made a police report after she realised she had been duped when the scammers asked her to pay a tax on the money she wanted to withdraw.
When she went silent in the group chat after making the report, a scammer pretended to be a victim and asked her if she wanted to make a police report together with him. Many of the members then left the group chat.
Ms Lim had fallen victim to a scam variant involving investment apps selling fraudulent investment products.
Since October 2025, there have been at least 20 reported cases of investment scams involving these applications, with total losses amounting to at least $1.7 million, said the police on Dec 9, 2025.
Speaking to the media during an interview facilitated by the police on Jan 29, Ms Lim said she was added into the group chat titled "Lion Capital Circle" in August 2025.
She did not think anything was amiss as she had contacted the customer service of a legitimate investment platform around the same time.
The other members of the group had local mobile phone numbers, which made the group appear legitimate.
"I was very active on the (other platform), so I assumed it was just a coincidence," she said, adding that she had been investing in stocks and bonds since she was in her 20s.
The scammers instructed her to download the application from the Apple Store, which she described as "legitimate and professional-looking", to access the "investment platform".
They also claimed they were linked to a legitimate investment company based in Hong Kong.
After creating a profile, she deposited $3,000 into the fake platform by scanning a QR code generated by an account from a mobile wallet.
For every subsequent transaction she made, she would receive a receipt that bore the name of a Singapore-registered company.
"I thought I had transferred money to a local company, and since Singapore has the Monetary Authority of Singapore and anti-money laundering laws, I didn't think it was a scam," she said.
The scammers gave her an online link for the company's website to verify its legitimacy. Ms Lim said she also searched online to try to get more information and asked other group members, who convinced her that she was not being scammed.
The group members would also message her frequently and treat her like a friend, which caused her to let her guard down.
When she wanted to invest a larger sum of money, the scammers told her she had to give them cash so her transaction could be processed quickly.
The scammers instructed her to tell the bank staff that she needed to withdraw cash for family expenses, so as to not raise any suspicions.
She withdrew a total of $110,000 in cash on two occasions and handed it to two men who met her near her home.
When she met the first man, she asked him: "Is it legal to accept cash?"
She added: "He told me: 'Who would dare to break the law in Singapore?'"
In early November 2025, Ms Lim wanted to withdraw the money she had invested, but was told she had to pay $150,000 in tax for the transaction.
"I was helpless because I had no money to give them, so I went to the police."
In the first half of 2025, some $456.4 million was lost to scams in Singapore, with almost 20,000 cases reported.
In 2024, scam victims in Singapore lost $1.1 billion, marking a record high in losses suffered in a single year.
Inspector Norashikin Hussein from the police's Anti-Scam Command said: "The police would like to remind the public to be careful when making investments, especially when being told to download apps to create trading accounts.
"Even when an investment app is available on the official Apple Store, it may not be safe or legitimate, as scammers might use such apps to promote fraudulent investment products."
Despite her financial loss, Ms Lim said she still has the support of her family. "I feel that life has to go on. I cannot let this ruin my life even though it's a very painful experience.
"I shared my experience because I don't want others to go through what I did," said Ms Lim, adding that she will be more careful from now on.
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