BALIK PULAU, June 18 — A married businesswoman lost RM74,000 after falling victim to a love scam syndicate recently.
Barat Daya District Police chief Supt Kamarul Rizal Jenal said the 47-year-old woman claimed that she befriended a man, who claimed to be from the United States, on Facebook in April last year.
“The suspect told the victim that he was facing financial difficulties with an excavation project in Italy and needed some money to repair the project site. The suspect also promised to return the money with a high commission,” he said in a statement today.
The victim, who had known the suspect for about a month, believed him and transferred RM74,000 through seven bank transactions into two bank accounts provided by the suspect.
“The woman realised that she had been cheated after failing to contact the suspect. She lodged a police report yesterday after finding out that the suspect’s profile pictures were used on several fake Facebook accounts,” he said, adding that the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code. — Bernama