Woman loses RM500,000 in love scam

ISKANDAR PUTRI: It was short lived for an African love scam syndicate as seven of its members were arrested within 24 hours after a 39-year old victim lodged a police report.
Iskandar Putri police chief Supt Noor Hashim Mohamad said the suspects – six Nigerians, and a Liberian aged between 30 and 40 years – were arrested in five areas in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 7.
The arrest, he added, was made following a woman lodging a police report of her losing RM500,000 to a Liberian man who claimed he had magic ink that could make a fake US dollar look real.
He said the woman befriended the man via a chat group after he claimed he was in Scotland since September this year.
"He wooed her with his sweet talk and she fell for him. Then one day he told her to meet up with a 'diplomatic personnel' from United Kingdom here," said Noor Hashim.
The woman, he added, met the Liberian man who showed her how to make a fake US dollar note look real after applying some special ink.
To convince her, he said, the man took her to a money changer and got the fake US$100 exchanged for Ringgit.
He added the woman then banked RM500,000 into several accounts to get the special ink.
Noor Hashim said when she realised that she was cheated, she lodged a police report on Dec 6 at Iskandar Putri police station.
The suspects, of whom five are without valid travel documents, are being remanded until Dec 22.
Police seized from them 12 hand-phones, seven laptops, four modems and three ATM cards, among others.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 for cheating, which carries a jail term between one year to 10 years, or whipping or fine upon conviction.