This is definitely a big amount of money for a 14-year-old teen.
Recently on 5 August, news broke out that a teenager in Kuantan was scammed of almost RM300,000 of his father’s money by a girl he had met on Facebook. The teen’s father is a businessman.
It was reported by Bernama that the 14-year-old first met a girl on Facebook named Anis. She claimed to be selling smartphones at a cheap price, so the teen contacted her. The two of them then got closer, started texting each other on Whatsapp and began playing PUBG together.
After a few months, Anis then started to ask the teenager to lend her some money which she promised to pay back. Then in May, the teen made the first transaction and up until now, he has made a total of 21 transactions amounting to RM295,950.
The businessman only realised what was happening in July so he questioned his son on it and asked for the money to be returned. When the teen demanded the big sum to be returned, the person on the other side of the line stopped responding.
The businessman then went over to the Cameron Highlands police station to lodge a report. He believes that his son has been deceived by a ‘love scam’ syndicate.
According to scamalert.sg, a love scam happens after befriending an attractive person (who is usually foreign) online, he or she tells a tale about falling into trouble or hard times. The scammer persists with the story to gain their victim’s trust and adoration, then asks for money as proof of love. Once the money is transferred, the scammer disappears.
What you should do if you think you have been scammed
According to Bank Negara Malaysia, you should follow these steps if you think you’ve been scammed:
- Lodge a police report
- Report to a relevant enforcement agency
- keep any details and records of the transactions to help with investigations
If you would like to know how to avoid being scammed, then you can check out the link below.
Also read: 8 Things Malaysians Can Do to Avoid Getting Scammed
