(Also read: Punjab man working as truck driver in Dubai wins ₹ 1.3 crore lottery, says ‘I want to use the money for my family’ )
The caller claimed these contacts could provide winning lottery numbers before each draw, but demanded payment for the information. However, none matched the winning results. Yang eventually realised he had been cheated after receiving further payment demands and reading newspaper reports about similar scams. His cleaning contract had also expired, leaving him unemployed. Police investigations into the case are ongoing.
The scammers reportedly charged S$1,988 for first-prize numbers, S$1,688 for second-prize numbers and S$1,388 for third-prize numbers. When Yang said he could not afford these amounts, they offered another arrangement, asking him to pay S$500 for account registration and another S$500 for five sets of 4D lottery numbers. On September 5, Yang received the numbers and was promised a potential prize of S$300,000. Yang filed a police report on September 16 after failing to receive the promised money. However, he subsequently transferred another S$3,500, hoping to secure the payout. He told Shin Min Daily News that he had lost S$21,688 and could now afford only instant noodles and bread.
They then promised to arrange for an insider to alter the tickets. The following day, Yang received a message claiming he had won the first prize, accompanied by a photograph of a cheque worth S$300,000. To collect his supposed winnings, Yang was asked to transfer another S$1,488. Two days later, they demanded another S$7,840. (Also read: Security guard wins ₹ 15 crore in UAE lottery, plans to quit job, buy Mahindra Thar )
When he questioned the scammers, they claimed the numbers were “sold out” because of their popularity. On September 9, the scammers demanded S$5,850 in “handling fees”, claiming that transferring such a large sum could raise money-laundering suspicions.
