A regretful Singaporean woman says she was swindled out of a sizeable sum of money after falling under the spell of a self-proclaimed soothsayer. According to a local media report, the unfortunate case began in February when the victim, identified as Ms. Chen, thought she had found the answer to her financial problems in the form of a social media post for a Malaysian fortune teller. Upon contacting the mystic, who claimed to have amassed over $200,000 in lottery winnings, she was informed that she could experience similar luck provided she fork over a nominal fee. Like a litany of tales involving big promises from self-proclaimed psychics, Chen soon found herself in a proverbial spider's web wherein her bank balance quickly shrank rather than grew.

After initially paying around $30 for the fortune teller to divine winning lottery numbers from her horoscope, the Malaysian mystic told Chen that his assistant needed to purchase the tickets because the reading was "too vague." Despite that difficulty, the mystic later informed her that the convoluted process had worked and they had won approximately $200,000. As one may have surmised, rather than simply transfer the whopping jackpot to Chen, the soothsayer had some additional requirements before they could complete their supernatural business arrangement.

Expecting to receive the windfall at some point, the victim financed the fortune teller's necessary steps that grew increasingly more expensive as the relationship continued. All told, Chen gave the psychic around $25,000 for travel expenses incurred from a trip to a temple to perform a gratitude ritual and an array of mystical accouterments, including a brass incense burner that the soothsayer said cost around $5,000. The largest bill covered by the victim was also the last one: an $8,000 charge for a place to put a purportedly blessed statue that he had previously bought with the victim's money.

In a testament to how quickly such situations can spiral out of control, Chen indicated that she realized she had been had when the fortune teller vanished in mid-April, less than two months after they first connected. Though she reported the matter to police, it is uncertain if she will ever be able to recoup the money paid to the mystic. Echoing many who have fallen victim to such scams, Chen mused "I actually had my doubts during the process," but the psychic's repeated promises and the sheer amount of funds she had already invested left her with "no choice but to continue to believe, hoping that the other party was not deceiving me."