A teenage girl was forced to borrow money from loan sharks (Ah Long) after getting tricked by an online job scam syndicate that later threatened to leak her nude photos.
According to MCA Public Services and Complaints Bureau Executive Advisor Datuk Seri Michael Chong, the 14-year-old from Ipoh, Perak, had joined a Telegram group that offered cash rewards for doing simple tasks.
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They claimed she had to pay RM1k to unlock her tasks
According to Berita Harian, Michael explained that the teenager had initially paid RM30 as a registration fee and received RM60 after completing her first two tasks.
But when it came to the third task, the syndicate claimed there was an error and told her to pay RM1,000 to “unlock” her previous tasks.
Unable to come up with the money, she turned to an online Ah Long and was forced to send nude photos as a condition for the loan.
Michael said the girl later tried to borrow another RM3,000 but was turned down because the earlier loan hadn’t been paid off.
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The ah longs later demanded RM15k
Michael said the victim’s family has lodged a police report in Perak and hopes the authorities, especially the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) and the Cybercrime Unit, will take swift action.
“When her parents found out, they paid RM1,500 to the ah long to settle the issue and assumed it was over. But the syndicate came back, demanding RM15,000 supposedly to ‘fix their company system,’ and threatened to leak her nude photos,” he added.
Meanwhile, MCA Wanita Secretary-General Ivone Low said the case should serve as a wake-up call about ah long loans among youths and urged the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) to dig deeper into the matter.
Ivone pointed out that the online job scam and the ah long loan could be linked, as the victim was lured into borrowing money through an advertisement shared in the same Telegram group.
“The victim is only 14. She didn’t just fall for a fake job offer, she ended up being blackmailed too. We urge PDRM, especially the D11 Unit (Sexual, Women, and Child Investigation Unit), to take this seriously. Parents should also keep an eye on their children’s online activity, as these scam syndicates are getting more aggressive in targeting young people,” she said.
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Also read: 23yo M’sian Borrows from 14 Ah Longs for Labubu Toy Business Venture, Ends Up RM93k in Debt
