File photo for illustration purposes
SIBU: A 34-year-old saleswoman lost RM35,550 to her ‘Facebook lover’ in yet another online love scam.
Deputy police chief Supt Collin Babat said the victim came across a user named ‘David Lee Chin’ while browsing Facebook on May 21 at about 8.10am at Jalan Lanang.
“The victim fell in love with David after almost a month of chatting online,” he said in a media statement.
Collin said the man then offered to send gift packages worth about US$20,000 (RM87,087) to the victim to express his love for her.
On May 29, the victim received a WhatsApp message from a persona named ‘Siti’ who told her to make payments in order to get the gift packages released by the relevant authorities.
From June 3 to 24, the victim made a total of 10 transactions of RM35,550 to the respective accounts given to her.
After remitting the amount, the victim received more messages telling her to bank in another RM27,500 as tax on foreign income.
It was then that the victim began to feel that she had been cheated and subsequently lodged a police report on the matter.
Collin said the case would be investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.