A Canadian tourist was left shaken after she almost became a victim of a syndicate scam at Universal Studios Singapore (USS). At first, she thought that a "Singaporean" was just being friendly when they exchanged names and Instagram. However, that led to a number of strangers approaching her as if they knew her well, calling her by her name.
“Friendly” encounter with a Singaporean girl "Claudine"
Sarah was just out to have a good time at USS. She was just walking into USS when a pleasant looking girl approached her to strike conversation. The girl introduced herself as "Claudine" and asked Sarah questions about her plans in Singapore. Sarah assumed this was just a friendly Singaporean looking to give her some recommendations and didn't think twice about exchanging Instagram handles.
It gets weirder here. Throughout the day, "Claudine" repeatedly messaged Sarah to ask about when she was leaving. This is despite Sarah's repeated response about her plans to leave when the park closes.
Approached by two creepy strangers who knew her name
When Sarah was leaving the park, an American man stopped her by calling her name.
"He approached me and said “hi Sarah! I heard it’s your first time in Singapore, want to go for a drink?” I was like… “how do you know my name???? Get away from me” he grabbed my wrist like he wanted me to go with him so bad."
Fortunately, a family nearby found the situation to be strange and intervened by telling the man to go away. They offered to walk Sarah to the taxi stand but Sarah politely declined.
As Sarah was leaving USS, an American male stranger called her by name, which he might have known from Claudine and even grabbed her hand. Fortunately, a family nearby intervened and he left Sarah alone.
However, as she was waiting for her Grab, another stranger of African descent approached her and asked the exact same question, as if they were both following a script.
"He knew my name. “Hi sarah! I heard it’s your first time in Singapore, want to go for a drink?” Like EXACTLY the same as the American man."
Luckily, Sarah's grab came just in time for her to decline and leave.
“I’m sorry Sarah I wouldn’t do what those men did to my family”
Once Sarah arrived at her hostel, she decided to confront "Claudine" on Instagram. She asked "Claudine" if she sent that two men after her, to which Claudine replied that she "wouldn't do what those men did to my family".
Sarah then blocked "Claudine" and took to Reddit to ask Singaporeans for their advice.
Following her creepy encounter with the 2 men, Sarah took to Reddit to seek clarity on the situation from Singaporean netters. Sarah was kind enough not to generalise the situation to Singapore. Most netters were quick to concur that her encounter was disturbing and uncanny as such things rarely occurred in Singapore. Many wondered if Claudine was part of a trafficking ring trying to lure lone female travelers.
Who is Claudine?
Curious netters swiftly dug up Claudine's social media profiles that only raised more questions. Other than her contact number and e-mail, she included a VK account (Russian social media) in her bio. She also had multiple accounts on various social media platforms, such as 4 Instagram accounts and 4 X (Twitter) accounts.
"Claudine" also claims in her LinkedIn profile that she works as an "Administration for federal government" in Singapore. This is not a term that is used in Singapore's context.
Sarah also decided to cut her Singapore trip short and head to Malaysia due to this encounter.
Singapore Police Force has been informed
Heeding the advice given by numerous netters, Sarah has since lodged a police report and wrote in to Resorts World Sentosa. Many expressed confidence in the Singapore Police Force's ability to track down "Claudine" and the organizations she may be involved with.
This incident has also raised concerns over new types of international scams which might have reached Singapore's shores. Hopefully, this is merely a one-off incident.
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