PETALING JAYA: Several victims have spoken up of their heartbreak after they were cheated of their money in love scams. They decided to tell their stories with the hope that others will learn from their mistakes. All names of victims have been changed to protect their privacy.
Jade met a man on a dating website. After some convincing, she agreed to strip naked at the man’s insistence.
She did what she was told as she believed that she had met a man that she can call her partner and lover.
Then when the man started seeking new friends with her female Facebook friends, she became upset.
The man retaliated by sending Jade a video recording of her naked body. He threatened to post the clip online unless she pays US$10,000 (about RM43,000).
“He said that he didn’t mind if I cannot pay the money as long as I obey his orders.
“When it came to video cybersex, I had to obey.
“I felt like dying right then and there when I did it. I continued weeping and telling him I was going to kill myself,” she recalled.
“I calmed myself down and decided to watch the clip again. I then realised that the video was dark and I couldn’t see my image.
“Feeling relieved, I blocked him and didn’t respond to his messages.
“I deactivated all my social networking sites, and although he continued to leave me threatening messages, he stopped bothering me after about a month,” she added.
Jade is now terrified to meet men online again.
Amy, 50, is a busy businesswoman who has no time for romantic encounters. However she decided to get to know a man for the first time on Facebook.
Six months after their online relationship, the 35-year-old man persuaded her to dabble in online investments.
“When I initially started investing, I got RM5,000 to RM10,000 back in returns. I thought that he was trustworthy and I invested another RM100,000,” she said.
Amy’s brother Mike was also convinced to invest in the scheme.
When she asked him for money for more investments, he told her to be cautious.
But Amy didn’t believe there was anything wrong and thought she had met her true love.
Mike scoured Facebook and found out that the man’s face was used in three different social media profiles, which showed that the man that Amy was in contact with was not the man in the photograph.
However, Amy did not believe her boyfriend was a scammer and continued investing with him. In the end, she lost her money.
Jessica, 40, who is a married banker with children, met a man on Weibo (China’s equivalent of Twitter).
The man persuaded her along with her family and friends to invest with him.
“I’m earning money. How can I pass up this opportunity?” said Jessica, who put RM100,000, including RM50,000 which she borrowed from others.
She realised something was wrong when she was told to pay more to meet “requirements”. She then lodged a police report.
Candy once met a pilot, George, on a dating website. After a week of chatting, the man, said to be from Britain, proclaimed his love for Candy and said he would visit her in Malaysia soon.
He told her that he was a widower with a daughter and hoped Candy would marry him.
The man then told her that he will fly to Malaysia and asked to meet him at KLIA.
However, Candy received a phone call on her way to the airport from someone claiming to be from the Immigration Department.
The officer told her that George was arrested, adding that he had broken Malaysian laws for bringing in RM1mil with him.
George, who was given the phone by the officer, asked her to pay his fine. Candy transferred RM5,000 to a bank account.
But when a second “Immigration” officer asked for RM7,000 more, she was told by a friend that she was cheated.
However, George called her again, saying that he was in the lockup and pleaded for money.
Not wanting any more trouble, Candy decided to go to the police station.
