Entity Impersonating Singapore International Monetary Exchange Limited (SIMEX/SGX)

Scam Type

Pig Butchering Scam, Fraudulent Trading Platform, Imposter Scam

Red Flag

  • Impersonation of a legitimate exchange.
  • Unusual “configuration profile” download.
  • Allowing small withdrawals but blocking large ones.

Details

The victim joined a trading blog on social media, where he met two individuals—“Mr. Charlie” and “Tina”—claiming to represent Fitbela Epro Limited, a UK-based Forex trading firm. They persuaded him to open a Forex trading account on the Meta 5 Trading platform and promised high returns. The victim initially invested $10,000 and was told the account had grown significantly, prompting him to invest even more. Following their direction, he eventually sent a total of $92,000 via wire transfer. Later, they claimed his account was now worth $200,000. When the victim attempted to withdraw his funds, he was told he needed to pay $87,000 in taxes before any money could be released. At that point, he recognized it as a scam.

Scammer Behaviour

Built trust via LinkedIn, moved to Line app, provided trading guidance, allowed small withdrawals to gain trust, and rejected large withdrawal.

Potential Lost Funds

$480,000

Final Outcome

Large withdrawal rejected; no funds recovered.