They say “love is blind”, but yet, some people still fall into this trap both literally and figuratively.
A 28-year-old woman in Kuantan, Pahang was recently cheated out of almost half a million ringgit in an online love scam.
According to police, the woman claimed that she got to know her ‘lover’, purportedly a Malay businessman living in France, via the CINTAKU application on December 22nd, 2020, but little did she know it wasn’t the love story she thought it was going to be.
“The victim claimed to have exchanged phone numbers, as well as give her bank account number, because the man intended to send gifts including cash to symbolise his love for her on December 26th, 2020, which he followed up with a photograph of a cheque via WhatsApp,” said Pahang Commercial Crime Investigation Department chief Supt Mohd Wazir Mohd Yusof.
“The woman then received an e-mail claiming that she would receive RM89,700 through a foreign remittance transaction, but first had to pay RM2,000 before the money could be credited to her account,” he further explained.
Wazir added that the woman immediately paid the cash before the man continued to demand for more money, and the woman, who appeared to be "obsessed" with her lover, just continued to transfer the cash.
It’s understood that in the end, the woman had made 44 money transfer transactions to nine different accounts given by the suspect, with the total amounting to RM418,400, which she emptied out from her mother’s bank account, although Wazir didn’t reveal how she accessed it.
The woman lodged a report on Wednesday (March 3rd) after realising she was scammed, and the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating, which carries a maximum jail term of 10 years and whipping, and a fine, if convicted.
by Kyle Roshen Jacob