Love hoaxes to money mules: She fights scams in Singapore as SPF’s Anti-Scam Command lead investigator

“While scammers are innovative, there’s always a pattern we can identify,” the 38-year-old said. 

The nature of the hoax is then shared with the public “to minimise the impact of those scams”.

Some scams, such as love scams, are more complex, DSP Sindhu added. Here, scammers adopt a fake identity and pretend to look for love and companionship; victims would willingly give their trust and money to keep the relationship going. 

“There is a deep psychological aspect to some scams, such that victims don’t even realise they’re being victimised,” she said. 

“In such cases, we work with [the SPF] communications team to craft messages so that people vulnerable to these scams can relate to them,” she added. “We also help them recognise that what they’re going through is not normal nor acceptable, and empower them to take steps to protect themselves.”