Single mother loses RM85,700 in love scam

Alor Gajah district police chief Supt Arshad Abu said the 59-year-old victim from Masjid Tanah had befriended an Instagram user under the name of Ahmed Hashima, who claimed to live in the United States, in July this year.

"The victim, who is unemployed, continued communicating with the suspect via WhatsApp, and the man later told her that he wanted to send luxury gifts such as handbags, shoes, watches, gold necklace and bracelet, and cash amounting to US$15,000 as a token of their friendship," he said in a statement today.

Arshad said on Aug 2, the woman was contacted by an agent of a courier company who asked her to make a payment before she could receive the gifts.

He said the victim had made several payments in stages totalling RM85,700 to four different bank accounts from August to October but did not receive the gifts.

"In fact, the scammer was still asking money from the victim and the woman suspected that she had been deceived by the individual. The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code," he added.