Elderly women targeted for financial security


KLANG: Accountant Denise Yap will never forget the day she had to rush to KL International Airport to “rescue” her mother’s best friend who had fallen prey to a romance scam.

“Amy is in her 60s with teenage grandchildren and so it is difficult to even imagine that she could fall in love with a purported young foreigner while her husband was still very much in her life,’’ said Yap.

Denise Yap and Amy are both pseudonyms.

She said Amy had met the man, who claimed to be a Caucasian from Britain, on Facebook and their friendship flourished.

After several months, he confessed his love for her.

He set a date for his arrival in Kuala Lumpur, with the duo planning a rendezvous during his stay in the country.

“While Amy was waiting for him at the airport’s arrival hall, the scammer called and told her he had arrived but was being held at the immigration point.

“He said he needed to pay in order to be allowed out and gave her a local bank account number into which she transferred several thousand ringgit,’’ said Yap.

About 30 minutes later, the man called again to say the amount was insufficient and asked Amy to top up more money to his account but by then, she did not have enough left in her account.

That was when she called Yap’s mother for a loan and told her what she needed it for.

Smelling a rat, Yap’s mother immediately dispatched her to the airport.

“When I arrived there, Amy was in tears and still believed that her beau was being held by immigration officers.

“It took me a long time to convince her that she had been scammed,’’ Yap added.

Johor Women’s League president Thanam Visvanathan said given that the real target is money, scammers mostly pick out elderly women because they are financially secure.

“It is mind-boggling how in most cases, women who are usually careful with everything, including money, can be easily cheated.

Thanam reckoned that some women succumbed to online love scams because of loneliness while others enjoyed the sense of adventure or perhaps even attracted to the notion of being in a relationship and in love.

Consultant psychiatrist Datuk Dr Andrew Mohanraj said Internet love scams occur when someone takes advantage of a person’s trust and emotions in order to gain access to their financial resources.

“The tell-tale signs of the potential victim are usually detected in their social media posts and it is not that difficult for the meticulous scammer to identify their victims.’’

He added that from a psychological perspective, feelings of loneliness, low self-esteem, a strong desire to be loved, a need for attention and validation were reasons why women fell prey to online love scams.

His advice to everyone is to not over-share personal information on social media and to be suspicious of people they have not met in person.

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

love scams , fraud , Online romance scams ,

   

Next In Nation

Floods force Kedah MB and family to relocate from official residence
Families of Kelantan flood victims sending out SOS messages on TikTok
Missing autistic man found drowned in Jertih
Floods: 507 people evacuated in Segamat, Tangkak
Elderly father, down syndrome daughter escape from landslide in Kuala Kerai
Floods: Pakistani PM promises to send aid to Malaysia
Floods: PKR postpones its 2024 National Congress
Over 30 GOF posts, police stations badly affected by floods, says Kelantan cops
Farmer falls to death while climbing petai tree in Kedah
Flood victims in Malaysia rise to nearly 139,000

Others Also Read