A female senior citizen lost RM257,172 after falling victim to an online love scam syndicate.

Johor Commercial Crime Investigation Department chief ACP Mohd Salleh Abdullah said the 68-year-old local woman befriended the local man who supposedly worked in the United States through Facebook, about three years ago.

He said the suspect promised to marry the victim and claimed to have sent US$750,000 in cash through a money transfer agent for the purpose of purchasing a house and vehicle for the victim.

According to him, the victim was then contacted by an individual posing as an agent from Kuala Lumpur who had asked the victim to make a payment of RM300,000 as customs processing fees and remittance tax.

"At first, the victim did not feel suspicious because the suspect said he would send back US$300,000. Following that, the woman made eight transactions since July 11, until her money ran out," he said in a statement, here, on Saturday.

Mohd Salleh said the woman became suspicious after the suspect asked to settle the payment before deciding to lodge a report at the Sentral police station here, on Saturday.

He said the unemployed woman had made the transactions using her late husband's savings besides borrowing from friends.

Mohd Salleh advised the public to be more vigilant and exercise caution when dealing with such syndicates.

"The public should check with the police first if they come across such a case before making any dubious transactions," he said.

-- BERNAMA