“Love is a beautiful thing, but never let it blind you to the red flags of a potential love scam”
– unknown
WHEN it comes to online scams, most of us will assume “Oh, these would never happen to me” despite numerous news reports and viral postings on social media about such incidents.
Online scams have become a pervasive issue globally, and Malaysia is no exception.
Despite the growing awareness and media coverage surrounding these scams, many individuals still believe that they are immune to falling victim to such fraudulent activities.
In Malaysia, a total of 7,548 Love Scam cases were recorded from 2018 to June this year, involving loses of over RM382 million with approximately 7,200 individuals reported to be victims.
Of the number of victims, 82 per cent or 6,251 victims were women while the remaining 1,297 cases involved male victims – the authorities have said there may be more than that, but they are not reported.
Last year, a friend of mine was involved in such a scam and he ended up losing an entire month’s salary. It was really sad to see him in that situation.
Although police reports were filed at three different police stations, there was no way my friend was getting his money back, which was obviously devastating to him.
I started thinking about how scammers are able to convince their targets to send them money, no matter how much it is.
Even more importantly, I began to wonder why the victims are so vulnerable and easily persuaded by someone they met online.
Love scams, in particular, exploit emotional vulnerabilities and the desire for human connection.
Scammers often create fake profiles on dating platforms, social media, or other online platforms, presenting themselves as attractive, caring, and trustworthy individuals.
They invest time and effort to establish a rapport with their targets, gradually building trust and emotional connections.
Once a bond is formed, scammers employ manipulative tactics to exploit their victims’ emotions.
They often fabricate compelling personal stories, claiming to be in dire situations and facing financial hardships or they are very wealthy, claiming to need a partner that they could spoil and cherish.
To further convince their victims, scammers may use various psychological techniques, including love bombing, where they shower their targets with excessive affection and attention, creating a false sense of intimacy and reciprocation.
They exploit the victim’s longing for companionship and emotional supports, making them feel special and desired.
Once the emotional bond is firmly established, scammers introduce the request for financial assistance.
They may claim to need funds for medical emergencies, travel expenses, or investments with the promise of substantial returns.
To instill a sense of trust and urgency, scammers often provide plausible explanations and even create fake documentation or references to support their stories.
In the case of my friend, he was swayed by the scammer’s well-crafted emotional manipulation and the scammer managed to exploit his longing for love and companionship, leaving him vulnerable to her deceitful tactics.
The scammer convinced my friend that she was sending a parcel all the way from Hong Kong, containing luxurious gifts of designer brands, on the condition that he sent money to cover the postage fees.
Upon transferring the scammer money, she provided my friend with pictures of the parcel’s content, proof of international courier receipt and the tracking number for the parcel.
Less than 24 hours after that, my friend was informed that the parcel was stuck at customs and the scammer instructed him to transfer more money to pay for clearance fee.
She said he needed to pay RM4,000 or else customs would bring the case to court, and he would go to jail.
When he offered to go and pick up the parcel at customs, the scammer said he could not do so and continued to press for the money.
Being scared by the thought of going to jail, my friend unfortunately paid the money and hoped for the best.
This was the point when he realised that he got scammed and immediately informed his family members, who were shocked about it.
According to him, the scammer continued to stay in touch with him to find out whether he received the parcel but he did not respond and blocked her.
My friend ended up sending money to the scammer without realising it, not just once or twice, but a total of six times before he realised he was being scammed.
While he had to learn this lesson the hard way, I hope that this concerning issue would be a thing of the past. With so much news coverage and awareness campaigns conducted by the authorities, we can tackle this issue effectively.
In my friend’s words, “It is always a red flag when someone you have met online starts hinting that he/she wants you to send him/her money, especially when he/she are so interested to know when your next payday is.”
