Singaporean Matters: “I’d rather lose the money than lose my friend ….”

An elderly resident in her 80s came seeking help and her story is heartbreaking. As she told us her story, it became clear that she was a wealthy widow who was being scammed by someone she considers her friend.

Her friend had brought her to see a “lawyer” and she paid a deposit for the lawyer to help her with a case. The “receipt” she showed us was an A4 piece of paper with no letterhead and just a statement saying that the lawyer will help her with her case. After paying the deposit, her friend told her that the lawyer discussed the case with her and said nothing can be done. Since then, the lawyer has dodged the widow’s attempts to see him for an explanation.

As her case has scam written all over it, we offered to approach the “lawyer” for clarification on the deposit. After thinking about it, she said she thinks her friend will be angry with her if we approached the lawyer. She called her friend and asked for her agreement for us to contact the lawyer for clarifications. As expected, her friend said she would be unhappy with the widow if she did that. She sighed and told us not to help as she did not want to risk losing her friend.

We explained that if her friend was a real friend, she would want her to get her money back. She said she knows what is going on and that it…