BUKIT MERTAJAM: An accounts clerk parted with almost RM1 million after she fell victim to a love scam syndicate recently.
The 58-year-old accounts clerk's nightmare started when she befriended a man, identified as William Schang from the US, through Instagram back in April 2019.
After a while, they exchanged numbers and started chatting through WhatsApp, until they formed an online love relationship.
Seberang Prai Tengah district police chief Assistant Commissioner Shafee Abd Samad said the man then asked the single mother for financial assistance for a petrol exploration business in the US.
He said the man also promised to return the victim's money along with commission.
"Believing the man, the victim had conducted 50 transactions into five different bank accounts totalling RM927,400 between April 9, 2019 and Feb 12, this year.
"After depositing the money, the victim tried to contact the man several times but to no avail. She then realised that she had been cheated and lodged a police report yesterday," he said.
The woman is believed to have withdrawn her savings from EPF to be given to the man.
Shafee said further investigation is ongoing to trace the owner of the bank accounts used by the syndicate.
Police also did not discount the possibility that the man could have used account mules for the transactions after checks showed four of the five accounts had been reported in cheating cases in other states.
The case is probed under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.