PETALING JAYA: While most love scam victims are females, male victims are also on the rise, say police.
In 2022, of the 794 victims, 149 were males and the number continued to increase in 2023.
ALSO READ: Her love for ‘Korean engineer’ leads to RM2.5mil heartache
“Last year, of the 935 cases reported, 196 comprised males. We believe there are more male victims of such scams out there but their cases go unreported,” Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf (pic) told The Star in an interview recently.
One of the factors that made men reluctant to report was embarrassment, he said.
“Embarrassment is a key factor as men also become sextortion victims.
“We urge male victims to come forward as they deserve justice,” he said.
Male victims are sextorted after they are seduced to “bare all”.
Love scams involve syndicates that target individuals online, through social media and online dating sites.
These syndicates will work to captivate their victims through sweet words and promises.
After that, the scammers will come up with “grand gestures” such as sending “gifts” via courier services.
ALSO READ: Lonely, elderly among those vulnerable to scams
These gifts are claimed to contain cash, jewellery, luxury items and even electronic gadgets in some cases.
The purported gifts, however, “get stuck”, and the recipients (the victims) are told they have to pay duties and other costs in order for the gifts to be delivered.
Scammers will then pose as representatives of the courier company and Customs officials in order to dupe the victims into making payments.
Once the payment is made, the “lover” somehow vanishes and is never heard from again.
ALSO READ: KL cops nab nine in love scam syndicate bust
Comm Ramli said in the first two months of this year alone, scammers made away with over RM3.44mil in 122 cases.
“Last year, a total of 935 cases were reported which involved RM43.92mil in losses compared with 2022 where 794 cases were recorded involving RM56.27mil in losses.
“The majority of victims duped by these syndicates were women.
“Our records show that last year, of the 935 cases reported, 739 comprised female victims while in 2022, 645 women fell prey to these syndicates,” he said.
Comm Ramli added that in most cases, the victims part ways with their money easily as they have already fallen in love with the scammers.
ALSO READ: 'Love scam' the tactic most used by conmen, say cops
He said while the modus operandi remains the same so far, these syndicates are no longer confined to just using bank accounts in order to receive money from their victims.
“We have noticed that they are also using digital currency wallets (ewallets)” he said.
Comm Ramli said victims who tend to fall prey to these syndicates were often emotionally vulnerable and lonely.
“These scams are designed to exploit people’s emotions and trust, making it difficult for victims to recognise the deception until it is too late.
ALSO READ: Financial literacy is crucial to fight scams
“The scammers are also skilled at creating convincing personas and situations that seem genuine, which further deceives their victims,” he said.
Comm Ramli added that last year, they arrested 774 suspects connected to these scams compared with 1,041 in 2022.
“Within the first two months of this year, we have made 110 arrests.
“It must be said that when it comes to cases involving local victims, our investigations revealed that the scammers were usually based in Malaysia.
“While the suspects may not be Malaysians, they set up base here because it was easy to get local accomplices to pose as bogus Customs and Immigration officials.
“They also use Malaysian bank accounts to receive money from the victims,” he added.
