A CYBER “sweet young thing” not only stole the heart of a retired businessman but emptied his EPF and bank savings accounts in less than a year of “courtship”.
The victim learnt of the “cyber sweetheart” scam only after he was left penniless and had problem putting food on the table.
His daughter and son-in-law sought the help of Bakri DAP liaison chief Gwee Tong Hiang to highlight the case and warn others of such scams.
According to a China Press report yesterday, the victim, identified only as Kow, met Kim Chu on Facebook last April. She claimed to be a Singaporean working in the United States.
In May, the girl told Kow her father’s sudden demise had left her with a US$700 million (about RM3 billion) estate but she needed his help to settle the inheritance tax and promised him a handsome reward in return.
Kow fell for the bait and transferred RM1,165,793 from his EPF account, as well as RM200,000 from his savings accounts, to nine bank accounts provided by the girl in seven months.
At a press conference arranged by Gwee in Muar on Sunday, Kow’s daughter recalled that her father had been very secretive about his online chats and behaved strangely some time ago when she visited her parents.
She said her mother discovered the scam last Friday after discovering that there was nothing left in his EPF and bank accounts.
She felt the banks concerned were negligent in allowing her father to transfer over RM100,000 each time, on eight occasions, between Aug 31 and Dec 15 last year.
She said she was gathering evidence and information before lodging reports to the police and Bank Negara Malaysia to seek justice.
