Only a month into a relationship with a man she knew on Facebook, a 44-year-old woman from Sibu lost RM152,050 after being tricked by a virtual love fraud. At first, the woman did not realize that she was being scammed. She really trusts her online lover and decided to wire him thousands of ringgit whenever he needed it.
From October 10 to December 5, the woman transferred money to the suspect in as many as 27 transactions to two different accounts with the intention of paying for assistance for her boyfriend. The love scam happened when the woman tried to help her lover that she believed to be detained for carrying too much British foreign money. However, it was all a lie as the suspect has never been detained by the Immigration Department. Rather it was just one of his tactics to scam thousands from his victims.
Meanwhile, the suspect contacted the victim on October 8 using the WhatsApp app, saying he had been detained by the Immigration Department for possessing foreign currency and needed assistance, according to Sibu District Police Chief ACP Zulkipli Suhaili.
The suspect's tactics worked for a while as the victims are completely clueless on the love scam that is happening. Blinded by love, the woman made multiple transactions that cost thousands of ringgit for her boyfriend. Only after doing as much as 27 transaction to her boyfriend that the woman begin to realized that she is being scammed.
Accordin to Bernama, before filing a police report, the victim phoned her friend after questioning the cash and realising she had been duped. However, the woman is a little too late in the realization as she is now scammed out of RM 152,050 from her life savings.
Zulkipli warns the public to be wary of the "love scam" fraud ring and to resist being easily convinced by someone they know through social media.
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