Pahang woman, 63, cheated of RM18,000 ‘bail’ for online friend

The woman had befriended the man, who claimed to be doing business in London, in June.

KUANTAN: A 63-year-old woman was cheated of RM18,000 when she tried to help a man she befriended on social media who claimed he had been detained by the Immigration Department.

The woman had befriended the man, who claimed to be doing business in London, over social media in June.

He told her he would be coming to Malaysia on July 16.

The woman claimed she received a call from an airline personnel on July 17 informing her that the man had been detained by immigration authorities for carrying too much cash.

“She was asked to bail him out by transferring money into two separate accounts,” Pahang Commercial Crime Investigation Department chief Mohd Wazir Yusof told reporters here today.

He said the woman lodged a police report last night after she was told to continue transferring money into the accounts.

In a separate case, Wazir said a gardener in Cameron Highlands claimed he was cheated after he paid RM12,550 for a RM30,000 loan.

He said the 24-year-old gardener had agreed to the loan offer made by phone on July 13 and was asked to pay the processing fee two days later.

“The victim realised he had been cheated when he was instructed to open a new account for repayment purposes and to pay for various other fees,” he said. - FMT