KUALA LUMPUR: A 38-year-old woman turned to loan sharks after falling victim to a love scam that drained her life savings.
The woman, who wishes to be identified only as Ms Wong, was persuaded to invest in cryptocurrency by a man she met online, a foreign-born Chinese individual she believed to be a handsome and trustworthy suitor, China Press.
Convinced by the man’s charm, she invested her entire life savings of RM18,500 into cryptocurrency.
Speaking at a press conference organised by Lobak state assemblyman Chew Seh Yong, the woman remained in denial despite Chew and reporters presenting clear evidence that she had been scammed.
She also pleaded with reporters not to publish the scammer’s photo, fearing it might bring harm to him.
Wong said she met the man online in early February.
After a few days of conversation, he began promoting cryptocurrency investment.
He initially introduced her to a legitimate trading platform to gain her trust and guided her through the account setup process.
Wong conducted six transactions between Feb 12 and March 13, investing her entire savings.
Subsequently, the man introduced her to a second platform that promised higher returns and sent her a download link.
He claimed she would receive a bonus of USD10,000 (approximately RM48,000) for opening a new account.
Trusting him, Wong transferred all her funds from the first platform to the second.
Although the second platform showed that her investment had grown to USD69,700 (around RM300,000), she was unable to withdraw either the profits or her original capital.
With her savings completely depleted, she borrowed RM2,000 from a loan shark.
After failing to make timely repayments, she turned to Chew for assistance.
Wong revealed that she is married with four children aged between two and 10.
As her husband is uninvolved in the family’s welfare, she supports the household alone through her job as a waitress, earning approximately RM2,000 per month.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
