KUALA LUMPUR: A 49-year-old man lost over RM20,000 to a sperm “lending” scam after being lured by an online advertisement offering payment to sperm donors.
The victim, known only as Lee, said he was enticed by the ad that featured an image of an attractive woman, prompting him to submit his personal information via an online form.
Subsequently, a person claiming to be a woman from Singapore named Chen contacted him on WhatsApp, falsely claiming that the sperm-lending scheme would involve sexual intercourse.
“Chen sent Lee an alleged picture of herself along with voice messages to enhance the scam. However, we believe the picture was likely taken from a modelling agency,” said MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong during a press conference on Tuesday (Sept 24).
Lee's troubles began when Chen requested an initial payment of RM1,000 to a local bank account, claiming it was necessary to connect him with her lawyer. After the payment, the supposed lawyer sent Lee a contract via WhatsApp, offering him RM1mil if he successfully helped Chen conceive.
The contract promised Lee an upfront payment of RM300,000 once signed within 48 hours, and an additional RM700,000 upon confirmation of conception. Although the agreement bore the name of a certified Malaysian law firm, Lee failed to recognise the signs of a scam due to his poor literacy.
The lawyer then demanded an additional RM24,000 in “processing fees” before the RM300,000 could be deposited into Lee’s account, which he paid. It wasn’t until the lawyer requested another RM30,000 that Lee realised he had been scammed.
After ceasing all communication, Lee sought advice from Chong. Upon investigation, Chong contacted the law firm involved, which confirmed that Chen was not their client and that the scammers had misused their name.
“We suspect that the scammers are part of a local syndicate, as they are using names of local legal firms, which tarnishes their reputation. The woman’s voice messages had a non-local accent and sounded robotic, which Lee unfortunately did not pick up on,” Chong explained.
“They also exploited Lee's poor reading literacy, allowing him to overlook the broken language in the agreement.”
