Singapore single mother gets 3‑month sentence for online romance fraud

A 35‑year‑old single mother in Singapore was convicted of aiding a fraud scheme after she met a man online who pretended to be a romantic partner. Believing the man’s claim that he needed emergency funds, she mailed five of her bank ATM cards and passwords to his cousin, who worked at a bank. The cards were then used as “head accounts” for a fraud network that collected NT$940,000 from twelve victims. The mother was charged with assisting fraud and money laundering. A district court sentenced her to three months’ imprisonment; the prosecution appealed, but the appellate court upheld the original sentence, noting that she acted under the influence of the romance scam and lacked intent to commit the crime.

The case highlights the risks of online romance scams that exploit personal relationships to obtain financial information and facilitate large‑scale fraud operations.