Elderly woman loses RM10,000 to scammer after two-month online romance

New Straits Times

4 days ago

KUALA LUMPUR: A 60-year-old woman was conned out of nearly RM10,000 after falling for a young man in his 20s.
The scammer charmed her with nightly serenades, romantic declarations and promises of a mystery birthday gift over a period of two months.
According to China Press, the victim, Madam Chow, said she first met the good-looking foreign Chinese man on a livestreaming platform in May, where he would sing every night.
She became a regular viewer and eventually began leaving comments during his livestreams, which soon caught the man's attention, and they started chatting privately.
Their relationship escalated quickly, with the man affectionately calling her "darling" and "baby," and even professing his love for her, she said during a press conference organised by Lobak state assemblyman Chew Seh Yong.
After learning about her upcoming birthday, he promised to send her a "mystery gift" from overseas.
Claiming that shipping fees needed to be paid in advance, he instructed her to buy prepaid top-up cards and send him the codes. Madam Chow ended up spending more than RM3,000 of her savings on these cards.
Later, he claimed that the parcel had been detained by Customs, who allegedly found large sums of US dollars inside and suspected money laundering.
He then pressured her to transfer RM10,000 to "release" the package or risk both of them being arrested and jailed.
Worried and desperate, Madam Chow attempted to withdraw money from her fixed deposit, but was stopped by bank staff.
Despite repeated warnings that she was being scammed, she initially refused to believe them. She later borrowed RM6,000 from a friend and continued purchasing more top-up cards.
Madam Chow revealed that throughout their two-month relationship, the man never video-called her, nor did he ask about her age or family background. Despite that, he constantly showered her with sweet words and terms of endearment.
Even on the morning of the press conference, the scammer was still contacting her — calling her "baby" and urging her to buy more top-up cards.
She eventually came to her senses after being scolded by her friend, who pointed out that she had been duped.