SINGAPORE: A Reddit user shared a painful experience that occurred during their mother’s funeral, one week after her sudden death. After a stranger claimed he could communicate with u/boredbuddha’s deceased mum, they took to Reddit to warn others not to fall for this.

During the wake, a family member introduced the post author to a man who supposedly had a “third eye”. U/boredbuddha, grieving and desperate for answers because their mother died unexpectedly and left unresolved matters, agreed to meet him.

The man, whom the post author described as “a chubby Chinese 30-something-year-old dressed in a black shirt and black shorts,” claimed he was Catholic and that he could relay messages from the post author’s mum. However, when u/boredbuddha asked him to prove his ability by answering a question only the mother would know, such as the phone number of their childhood home, the man became defensive and offended, insisting that this was “not how it works.” His wife also accused the user of being rude.

Eventually, the man was only able to offer a vague message, “Your mum tells you to let go.” For the post author, this was evidence that the man was fabricating his claims. The encounter escalated emotionally, and the man left.

Later, the user discovered that the man was an insurance agent, leading them to suspect that his real motive may have been to build trust with grieving families and potentially sell insurance in the future, though u/boredbuddha admitted they can’t prove this.

The post can be read in full here.

Unfortunately, the man’s MO is not unknown in Singapore or elsewhere, as different forms of “psychic scams” are not new. Moreover, some unscrupulous fraudsters prey on individuals or families who are grieving, as they are especially vulnerable due to the loss of a loved one.

In Australia, 207 people lost more than A$500,000 (over S$640,000) in 2022 to psychic and clairvoyant scams, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Scamwatch platform.

Commenters offered condolences to the post author and agreed that the man was likely to be a scammer.

“It’s almost always guaranteed that such individuals are in it to prey on families that are going through tough times. It’s your own family private affair, tell them… off, and don’t be shy of offending,” one advised.

“Of course, this is a scam. The minute he said I’m a Catholic, he saboo himself. No real Catholic will ever do that. There are lots of scammers pretending to be priests or from the church, asking for money. Please do not believe any Tom Dick or Harry. We need to be on our guard all the time. Evil people are everywhere!” another added. /TISG

Read also: Beware of scams! Singapore police reported over 3,000 fraud cases in May, resulting in nearly $67 million losses

This article (Singaporean raises alarm after stranger claimed he could communicate with their deceased mother) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.