TWO individuals lost RM27,490 to an online love scam syndicate in separate incidents in Butterworth, near Kepala Batas, recently.

Seberang Perai Utara district police chief ACP Noorzainy Mohd Noor said both victims lodged police reports yesterday.

He said that in the first incident, a 48-year-old housewife was duped by a “Dutch man” she befriended through Facebook.

“The man told the victim that he had sent her a gift as a sign of his love. 

“The victim was then contacted by a courier service representative telling her that the gift had arrived and that she needed to make payment for the item to be delivered,” he said.

Noorzainy said the victim transferred RM13,700 to the account number provided by the courier company, but later realised that she had been cheated when she was asked to make additional payments.

In the second case, Noorzainy said a 54-year-old welder ended up RM13,790 poorer when his Facebook friend who claimed to be from the United States asked him to pay for some gifts she had sent over.

The police did not rule out the possibility that the two victims were deceived by the same love scam syndicate based on the modus operandi used.

Both cases were being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code. – Bernama, August 14, 2021.