Two individuals lose RM27,490 in love scam

KEPALA BATAS: Two individuals lost RM27,490 to an online love scam syndicate in separate incidents in Butterworth, near here recently.

Seberang Perai Utara district police chief ACP Noorzainy Mohd Noor said both of the victims lodged a police report on the incidents yesterday.

He said in the first incident, a 48-year-old housewife was duped by a 'Dutch man' she befriended through Facebook.

"The man told the victim that he had sent a gift as a sign of his love for her.

"The victim was then contacted by a courier service representative telling her that the gift had arrived and she needed to make payment for the item to be delivered," he said in a statement today.

POLICE-CHEAT 2 (LAST) KEPALA BATAS

Noorzainy said the victim transferred RM13,700 to the account number provided by the courier company, but later realised that she had been cheated after being asked to make additional payments.

In the second case, Noorzainy said a 54-year-old welder ended up RM13,790 poorer when his Facebook friend who claimed to be from the United States asked him to pay for some gifts she had sent over.

The police did not rule out the possibility that the two victims were deceived by the same love scam syndicate based on the modus operandi used, he said adding that the cases were being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.

Noorzainy also urged the public to check the banking information given by any party at https://ccid.rmp.gov.my/semakmule/ before making payments or download the CCID Check Scammer application to avoid falling victim to such scam.

-- BERNAMA