KOTA KINABALU: A housewife here parted with over half a million ringgit to a man she befriended through social media since July this year, in what was believed to be a love scam.
The 47-year-old woman had first come across the person on Facebook before they took their “relationship” to another level by interacting through WhatsApp.
It was learned that after becoming close, the suspect requested the woman to transfer some money under the pretext that he had to use funds to travel to Malaysia so that he could arrange for an inheritance left by his late father.
The man also promised to pay her back double the amount the woman was willing to lend to him.
Because of the trust she developed through their relationship, the woman then wired the money in stages to the suspect’s account, which eventually snowballed to RM508,500.
The woman, however, sensed something was amiss when the man failed to settle the debt and instead asked for more money from her.
Realising that she was a scam victim, the woman then lodged a police report on Thursday (Dec 1).
Kota Kinabalu OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Zaidi Abdullah confirmed the case when contacted later.
He added that a probe, framed under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating, was now underway.
“The public is advised to be wary of online scam activities which the police as well as others have repeatedly publicised,” said ACP Mohd Zaidi.
