SIBU: A 39-year-old teacher from Kanowit almost mortgaged her house before she realised she was conned in an online love scam.
Sibu police chief ACP Stanley Jonathan Ringgit said the victim though lost RM102,900 to a scammer named Othman Celestine whom she met via social media on Aug 31.
Othman told the teacher that he is from the United Kingdom, working as a project manager.
“After one month, Othman conveyed his intention to marry her. He told her his late father left behind RM15.5 million in Terengganu.
“But he needs to pay the management and legal fees in order to withdraw the money from his late father’s bank account,” he said in a statement received here yesterday.
Stanley said Othman then asked the teacher to help him settle the fees, to which she agreed.
He said she transferred RM20,000 to a bank account provided by the scammer under the name ‘Zamrina Abdul’ on
Oct 23.
Othman also told her to open a new bank account and sent an ATM card to an address in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, he said.
“On Nov 14, she deposited RM50,000 into the new account, followed by five other transactions totalling RM32,900.
“It is only when Othman told the teacher to mortgage her house that she realised her online lover is a scammer,” he said.
He said the teacher lodged a police report on Dec 23.
Stanley said: “People never learn. Scam cases happened many times before and are still happening. Many still fall prey to the syndicate.”