SIBU: A businesswoman here lost RM35,550 after she was scammed by her Facebook boyfriend.
Sibu district deputy police chief Supt Collin Babat said the 34-year-old victim first knew the man named ‘David Lee Chin’ when browsing her Facebook on May 21.
“The victim fell in love with ‘David’ after almost a month of dating.
“He then offered to send the victim a gift purportedly worth about USD20,000 (RM87,087) to prove his love for her,” Collin said in a statement.
On May 29, the victim received a Whatsapp message from a person named ‘Siti’ who asked her to make a payment to claim the gift package from ‘David’ from relevant authorities.
The victim made a total of 10 transactions totalling RM35,550 to a specific account provided to her by ‘Siti’ between June 3 to 24.
Collin added that once the victim had paid the amount, she received more messages directing her to deposit another RM27,500 as tax on foreign currency income.
“It was then that the victim realised that she was being cheated and filed a police report,” he said.
The case will be investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for fraud.
