Bereaved woman loses almost RM400,000 after falling for love scam

JOHOR BARU: A businesswoman who recently lost her husband was cheated out of close to RM400,000 of her savings after falling for a love scam syndicate.

Johor police chief Comm Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said that the 23-year-old had befriended an individual on Instagram who claimed to be from London, United Kingdom in April this year.

"The victim befriended the suspect under the username ‘chongwei4580’ and had fallen in love with the suspect,” he said.

"On Sept 10, the suspect had contacted the victim after her husband passed away and offered a gift worth USD950,000 (RM3.9mil) as condolences to her," added CommAyob in a statement here on Saturday (Sept 18).

Comm Ayob added that the victim received an email from a Korean delivery company using the name ‘Word Xpress Logistics’ on Monday (Sept 13) that requested the victim to pay RM6,200 for ‘custom clearance.'

"The suspect had also warned the victim that if she refused to make the payment, and any other payment requested by the suspect, she would be jailed for colluding with the suspect for money laundering. The victim followed the suspect's instructions after that,” said Comm Ayob.

"From Sept 13 until Sept 15, the victim made 24 online transactions to 11 different accounts amounting to RM395,200," he added.

Comm Ayob said that the victim had only made the police report after realising that she had been duped and the parcel had never reached her.

The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating which carries imprisonment for a maximum of 10 years, whipping and a fine.