Fatimah (sixth left), with Rohani on her right and Chong on her left, leads the cake-cutting ceremony. Also seen are Noriah (second left), Sharifah Mordiah (fourth left), Wee (third left), Sim (right) and Tan (second right). — Photo by Chimon Upon
KUCHING: Single mothers must be aware of social media scams, such as the love scam, and must strive to avoid becoming victims of such schemes.
According to Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah, such scams employ certain tactics that prey on women’s vulnerabilities.
“These scammers are experts when it comes to this sort of scam. They know just what kind of vulnerabilities you may have when they add you on social media, and will use those to their advantage.
“Some even have scripts that they will follow; (they) will tell you what you want to hear so they can scam you,” she spoke at the Carnation Club of Kuching and Samarahan’s 10th anniversary dinner on Friday.
Fatimah also said it was not just the single mothers or women who became the targets of such scams – occasionally, single fathers and men became victims too.
Citing statistics from the Sarawak Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID), the minister said there were 102 reported cases last year.
“Out of the 102 cases, 87 victims were women, while 15 were men,” she added.
Fatimah also called upon the Carnation Club to include information regarding these scams, when carrying out activities.
“We know that you (single mothers) work hard, and save up money to send your children to school and get a good education. But one misstep, such as falling for these scams, could undo all that hard work.
“Therefore in future (Carnation Club’s) activities, do include information about such scams,” she said.
Batang Lupar MP Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim, Sarawak Women and Family Department (JWKS) director Noriah Ahmad, former Samariang assemblywoman Datuk Sharifah Mordiah Tuanku Fauzi, political secretary to chief minister Tan Kai, Fame International College chief executive officer David Chew, Sarawak Housing and Real Estate Developer Association (Sheda) chairman Sim Kiang Chiok, Carnation Club chairperson Magdalene Chong, and Carnation Club advisor Datin Amar Kathryn Wee were also present at the dinner.