KUALA LUMPUR: Three individuals - two women and a man - were left devastated after falling victim to a love scam and phone scam syndicate, leading to a total loss of over RM5.4 million in three separate cases.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf revealed that in one case, a 67-year-old female accountant from Sabah lost RM2.2 million after being duped by a man she had met on Facebook in October 2017. The man, who claimed to be a US citizen, had developed a romantic relationship with the victim within a month.
Ramli said that the victim, believing the man to be a businessman planning to relocate to Malaysia, agreed to assist him by transferring RM5,000 into an account provided by the suspect.
“The suspect then continued to ask for money under various pretexts such as personal problems and business matters,“ he said at a press conference at the CCID Office in Menara KPJ, here today.
The victim ended up making 306 transactions across 50 different bank accounts, only realising she had been scammed in November. She filed a police report yesterday, following the shocking discovery.
“Investigations found that part of the money was obtained through loans from the victim’s family and friends. The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code,“ he added.
In a separate case, Ramli explained that a 57-year-old woman fell victim to a love scam after meeting an English man on Facebook in April of this year, resulting in a loss of RM2.47 million.
“After two weeks of interaction, the man claimed he wanted to visit Malaysia to meet the victim. However, the situation took a turn when an individual, allegedly from customs, contacted the victim, claiming the man had been arrested for attempting to bring in RM4.66 million (or US$5 million) in cash.
“To secure his release, the victim, who works in the private sector, was instructed to make payments to various agencies, including Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN), and the Ministry of Health. The victim made 13 transactions to 13 different bank accounts, totalling RM2.47 million.
Ramli said that the victim, realising she had been scammed, filed a police report on Nov 28. The case is currently under investigation under Section 420 of the Penal Code
