KUALA LUMPUR: An underage girl fell into a trap laid by loan sharks after sharing her naked photos to secure a loan.
The girl was forced to borrow from loan sharks after falling prey to a job scam and needed money to clear debts accrued.
“As a result, she borrowed RM1,000 from an online illegal moneylender.
“She was forced to share naked photos of herself as a condition for the loan,” MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong told a press conference yesterday.
On July 7, the victim’s parents fork out RM1,500 to help her repay the loan sharks.
However, the loan sharks demanded an additional RM15,000, stating that the repayment was “too early” and had caused issues with their system.
“They threatened to release her naked photos on social media if the extra money was not paid,” he said.
Wanita MCA Beliawanis bureau chief Ivone Low, who was also at the press conference with the girl, said it was possible that the scammers and loan sharks had been in cahoots with each other.
“I believe this happened within an ecosystem. It is a scam plus a loan shark case and the trend shows that they are aiming at youngsters,” she said.
Chong said he had received at least three extortion cases that involved nude photos this year alone out of the 43 related complaints by women victims.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” he said.
In another case, a 24-year-old woman was duped into borrowing money from loan sharks for fees to claim the prize money from a lottery win.
The victim, who wished to be known as Leong, said she had to borrow money from seven loan sharks to pay the fees by a supposed “master” who promised her that he could help her win a lottery in Singapore.
“On June 22, the master told the woman that one of his followers had purchased a lottery ticket in Singapore on her behalf.
“She paid RM1,600 for the lottery and was later told that she had won RM1,760,000,” he said.
However, Chong said the woman was later informed by the master that the money was stuck due to investigations into his bank account by the authorities.
“The master told her to help him pay part of his tax payments so that her ‘winnings’ can be sent over to her later,” he said, adding that the victim then paid RM8,000 before paying another RM4,000.
