BUKIT MERTAJAM – A single mother here has lost nearly RM1 million after falling victim to a love scam recently.
Seberang Prai Tengah district police chief Shafee Abd Samad said the 58-year-old account clerk at a supermarket here told the cops that she befriended a man, allegedly from the United States, via Instagram in April 2019.
“The man introduced himself as William Schang. They exchanged telephone numbers and formed a romantic relationship online,” he told Bernama today.
“The suspect then began asking the woman for financial assistance for his oil exploration business in the US, with a promise to return the money with interest.
“The victim believed him and transferred RM927,400 in 50 transactions into five local bank accounts provided by the suspect between April 9, 2019 and February last year.”
He said the woman is believed to have withdrawn all her savings, including from the Employees Provident Fund.
She realised she had been cheated after failing to get in touch with him following the transfers, he said.
“She lodged a police report yesterday. Investigations are ongoing to trace the owner of the bank accounts used by the syndicate.”
He said police are not ruling out the possibility that the suspect could have used “mule accounts” for the transactions, after checks showed that four of the accounts have been reported in cheating cases in other states.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code. – Bernama, June 21, 2021
