Teen trapped by loan sharks after sharing explicit photos

The Star

10-07-2025

KUALA LUMPUR: An underage teenager fell into a trap laid by loan sharks after sharing her explicit photos of herself to secure a loan.
The girl, who was not named due to her age, attended a press conference today organised by MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong.
She was forced to resort to loan sharks after falling for a job scam and needed money to clear accrued debts.
"As a result, she borrowed RM1,000 from an online loan shark. As a condition for the loan, she was forced to share explicit photos of herself," Chong said.
On July 7, the victim finally had her parents help by paying RM1,500 to the loan sharks to settle the debts.
However, the loan sharks demanded an additional RM15,000, stating that the previous payment was "too early" and had caused issues with "their system."
"They threatened to release the explicit photos on social media if the money was not paid," he said.
A second case highlighted at the press conference involved a 24-year-old woman who had been duped into borrowing money from loan sharks after paying "fees" to claim a supposed lottery win.
The victim, identified as Leong, said she had to borrow money from seven loan sharks to pay the fees demanded by a supposed "master" who promised to help her win the lottery in Singapore.
"On June 22, the so-called master said that one of his followers had purchased a lottery ticket in Singapore on her behalf. She paid RM1,600 for that lottery and was later told she had won RM1,760,000.
"However, she was then told that the money was stuck as he was unable to send it over due to alleged investigations into his bank account and that she needed to help pay part of his tax payments to receive her 'winnings,'" he said, adding that the victim subsequently paid RM8,000 followed by an additional RM4,000.