In the realm of too-good-to-be-true offers, one retiree found himself entangled in a web of deceit when he saw an advertisement on social media.
It was claimed that a Malaysian lost a substantial sum of money when he fell prey to scammers who claimed to offer a lucrative reward to impregnate a Hong Kong woman.
Is it true that such a 'child-bearing' scam really caused a retiree to lose over RM160,000?
VERDICT:
TRUE
A 57-year-old Malaysian man lost over RM161,000 to scammers who promised him a RM1.08mil reward to impregnate a Taiwanese woman.
The man, who identified himself as Tan, said that he saw the "offer" in an advertisement on social media.
The post claimed that a Hong Kong woman was seeking a man to have a child with and was offering a reward of HK$2mil (approximately RM1.08mil).
"I was communicating with someone claiming to be a lawyer for the woman who would formalise the agreement. I was then directed to make several payments, including RM10,000 for airfare tickets and RM30,000 for her protection services," he said at a press conference organised by MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong.
Chong said bank officers reached out to Tan regarding the transactions and asked to meet with him because they were concerned that Tan was being scammed.
"After meeting both the bank officer and a policeman who voiced similar concerns, Tan still proceeded to make payments to the scammers.
The scammer assured Tan not to worry and claimed that his money was ready.
“They even provided a screenshot of a cheque made out to him," Chong explained.
In total, Tan handed over RM161,000 to the scammers.
At the press conference, Tan explained what had happened to Chong, hoping that his story would be shared through the media as a cautionary tale.
