Online ‘dropshipping expert’ cost me nearly $200K in one month

Last month, I installed the social media app T to find a more interactive way to improve my English skills.

Not long after, someone with the nickname "Chen" messaged me. She introduced herself as a Thai woman with a Singaporean father and asked to switch to WhatsApp for easier communication.

I agreed. We spoke daily for about a week. She then told me about a dropshipping business she was involved in, and invited me to join. The website she used is still online today.

Chen portrayed herself as wealthy and charitable. Though she knew I had a family, she said she only wanted casual conversation. She guided me through setting up an account and installing apps. She promised profits of 10% to 35%, and said I could recover my capital in 7 to 10 days.

Since I had no savings, she encouraged me to take out a bank loan. I began by topping up my account through a "customer service" team, who provided Vietnamese bank accounts, sometimes under local company names, for my transfers.

Once credited with digital funds, I had to "buy" items supposedly ordered by customers. I later realized these buyers were part of the same group. Still, I was able to withdraw nearly VND40 million in the first three orders, within just three days.

That early success fed my greed. Without researching further, I believed this was a reliable income stream. I borrowed my parents’ land use rights certificate and another jointly owned by my wife and me, then mortgaged both to a local credit fund.

I received VND2.1 billion, which I deposited into the dropshipping account between Feb. 25 and March 15. As the order values increased, I ran out of money. Chen then added US$44,000 into my account through the platform, which only deepened my trust in her. But on March 15, when I tried to withdraw money, the system rejected the request. I tried again over the next two days, each time receiving a different explanation, and was told to deposit more money to "verify" my account.

Afraid I would lose everything, I panicked. My wife and I borrowed another VND2 billion from her sister and relatives, hoping a final deposit would unlock the funds. But the system demanded US$50,800 more, claiming I had entered the wrong account number.

That was the moment I knew I had been scammed. When I contacted Chen, she stayed composed and claimed she felt sorry for me, offering to "help" with US$40,000, if I first deposited another US$10,800.

I refused. She immediately blocked me on WhatsApp. My wife and I were devastated. We cried for days. I had lost everything in just one month, because I trusted too easily, acted on greed, and failed to do proper research.

I am sharing my story in the hope that others will not fall into the same trap.