A 57-year-old Malaysian woman was scammed of over RM300,000 (S$99,000) after she lent money to her boyfriend, “Andy Lau”.
According to Harian Metro, the civil servant befriended the man some time at the end of last year (2020) and began communicating through WhatsApp after exchanging phone numbers.
North Seberang Prai OCPD Assistant Commissioner Noorzainy Mohd Noor said that the man claimed to be an American citizen working in the oil and gas industry. His Facebook account was listed under the name “Andy Lau”, reported The Straits Times.
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“About a month into their ‘relationship’, the suspect started to tell his sad story to gain her sympathy, ” he said.
The woman began to feel sorry for him and agreed to lend him some money.
“In total, she banked in 49 transactions from mid-October last year until the end of December. She deposited money into 14 bank accounts through several local banks,” ACP Noorzainy said.
“She made the transactions in stages, believing that she would get her money back.”
However, the woman eventually realised that she was being cheated of her money when her ‘boyfriend’ kept asking for more money. She then lodged a police report on Saturday (30 January).
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The case is now being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating, which states that,
“Whoever cheats and thereby dishonestly induces the person deceived, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year and not more than 10 years and with whipping, and shall also be liable to fine.”
ACP Noorzainy urges the public to not easily for “sad stories or sweet promises” from unknown individuals through social media as scammers would resort to various methods to dupe victims.
Also read: M’sians Urged To Be Cautious Of Calls/Texts From 011-2369 6711 After It Was Linked To 4 Scams
