JOHOR BARU: A woman in her 40s here was cheated of more than RM140,000 after falling for a love scam.
Johor police chief Comm Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat said the victim, who worked at a learning institution, received a text from an unknown man in March.
“The text was sent through the Messenger app, and the suspect said he wanted to get to know the victim.
“They then communicated via WhatsApp after the woman fell for the sham,” he said in a statement on Tuesday (July 18).
The suspect also informed the victim that he was coming to Malaysia to manage his late father's will, he added.
Around April, the suspect claimed that he had arrived in Malaysia and contacted the victim to request financial aid from her.
“The suspect asked the victim to pay for his expenses and the fee for a withdrawal of US$5.5mil (RM24mil) from the World Bank.
“The suspect also promised that the victim would receive a huge portion of it for helping him get the money,” he said.
The victim then made 11 financial transactions between April 11 and June 12 to the account given by the suspect, with the total transfers amounting to RM142,080.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
