Come kakis, order your kopi first, let me tell you this story.

There is this 33-year-old fellow named Sebastian Lim Qian Ji who is really vying for the ultimate “unfilial son” MVP award. Basically, back in 2021, a frozen food company director needed cash, so Sebastian volunteered to help find loans. But instead of doing legit business, he went full scammer mode and cheated 21 people out of more than $3.8 million!

He didn’t discriminate at all:

• He conned a married couple (his secondary school friends) out of nearly $700,000 by inventing fake “projects” at places like the Singapore Sports Hub.
• He tricked his own 59-year-old father into asking three friends for $430,000, then took all the cash for himself!

To avoid getting caught, he used his own mother and then-girlfriend as money mules to collect bank transfers and cash.

He did return about $860,000 along the way—not because he felt guilty, but just as a “sweetener” to gain their trust so he could trick them into giving him even more money to gamble and pay off debts! Overall, his victims are still down by $2.9 million.

To top off this masterclass in bad decisions: while already banned from driving for drink-driving, he got behind the wheel anyway in late 2024 and crashed his car. He was arrested 11 days later and has been locked up since.

It’s Getting Scary: The Trend of Betraying Own Friends & Family

Sadly, Sebastian’s case isn’t an isolated incident. There is a disturbing trend in Singapore of scammers preying on the people who trust them the most. When high-stakes gambling debts or fast-cash temptations hit, these scammers look for the easiest targets—their own family and close friends.

1. The SAF Regular Who Drained His Own Dad’s CPF ($1.6M) A 29-year-old SAF regular, Tay Yi Cong, was sentenced to 7 years’ jail after siphoning over $1.6 million primarily from his own father to feed his gambling addiction. He secretly used his dad’s phone to apply for loans using Singpass and even tricked his father into completing facial recognition scans to wipe out $533,800 straight from his dad’s CPF account!

2. The Boyfriend Manipulation Scam ($150k Life Savings Lost) In another heartbreaking case, a serial fraudster named Jocelyn Kwek created a fake online persona to date a 24-year-old man. She manipulated him into scamming his own parents and sister out of $150,000—their entire life savings—under the guise of fake “investments.” The poor boyfriend ended up jailed for 15 months for betraying his own family.

3. The Forged Cheques ($1M+) In another investment scam, perpetrator Sathish Nair Dhanabalan ran out of money to pay back angry investors. His solution? He stole blank cheques from his own father and forged his father’s signature to buy himself time with creditors.

Why Are We Seeing More “Insider” Scams?

• Bypassing the Bank Guardrails: Modern banks have strict anti-scam measures for strangers, but scammers exploit the ultimate shortcut: unconditional family trust. Parents rarely double-check investment contracts or Singpass pop-ups when their own children ask for help.
• Using Family as “Warm” Bait: Fraudsters like Sebastian Lim use their own parents as unwitting middle-men. When uncles and aunties hear about an “investment” from an old friend, their guard drops completely.
• Driven by Addiction: Almost every single one of these betrayals traces back to heavy gambling debts, where the scammer views their family’s savings as their personal bailout fund.

Moral of story: If your own son, relative, or secondary school friend comes to you with a “guaranteed high-return project,” don’t let love blind you. Always double-check, never hand over your Singpass or bank details, and don’t even buy them a Kopi O—just run!