SINGAPORE – When the police told sisters Faith and Sarah Phua in April 2025 that their 75-year-old mother wanted to transfer $67,000 to an unknown account, they were shocked.
They confronted their mother, who admitted she wanted to send the money to tech billionaire Elon Musk, whom she believed needed help saving his company from ruin.
They were horrified to later learn that since 2022, their mother had been fooled by scammers who used artificial intelligence to impersonate Mr Musk to talk to her.
Over three years, the elderly woman transferred $600,000 to the scammers.
The sisters spoke to The Straits Times at the Police Cantonment Complex in New Bridge Road on March 24.
Ms Sarah Phua, 45, said: “My mum said Elon Musk needed her money to help his business as it was losing money. That was when we knew she had been brainwashed.”
Ms Faith Phua and Ms Sarah Phua said the money their…
