Friendship is blind, even to family's scam warnings
The woman, in her 60s, has since deposited more than RM380,000 to the man whom she got to know through Facebook in January.
Muar Municipal Council councillor Eng Chong Yang (pic), who was alerted about the case when the woman was once again attempting to transfer money at a bank, said she refused to believe that she had been scammed despite repeated warnings from family members and bank staff.
'The male friend claimed to be a Malaysian working in Turkiye. After the woman got to know him on Facebook, they moved their conversation to WhatsApp and kept in frequent contact.
'The man apparently told her that he had sent her RM3mil in cash as a gift for their friendship, but the parcel was allegedly held up by authorities and could only be released after certain fees were paid,' said Eng.
The woman had been transferring money into multiple bank accounts under this pretext without her husband's and son's knowledge.
However, her activities were later discovered by her family, leading to a major quarrel.
Her family had even lodged three police reports and confronted her many times because they believed she was being scammed.
'Last week, after the woman's son found out that she had left home to once again deposit money to her friend in Turkiye, he followed her,' said Eng.
'By the time he finally found her at a bank, she had already deposited about RM35,000 into a stranger's bank account using a cash deposit machine. The transaction led to a heated argument in public.
'A bank staff member, who had earlier advised the woman against making the deposit, immediately contacted me for help.
'I intervened by listening to the woman's side of the story and explained to her that she had fallen victim to a scam,' he added.
Eng said the woman's son had tried various measures to stop her from making the transactions, including trying to hide her mobile phone so that she could not contact her 'friend'.
However, she managed to find the device in her son's room after he fell asleep, said Eng, adding that the discovery led to another argument a few days after the incident at the bank.
Her son once again asked for Eng's help to advise his mother. However, she still appeared unconvinced and insisted that the male friend was genuine and that she wanted to get her hands on the parcel.
'I gave her firm advice and told her that the police are handling the case, so she should stop contacting the scammer.
'Her son is still holding on to her mobile phone, as he is worried that she will fall back into her old ways,' Eng said.
He added that he would check on the family again soon and advise the woman to change her phone number.
Eng said he is currently addressing a handful of complaints of scams involving senior citizens, including one case where the victim lost about RM2mil of his savings.
He hopes to raise more public awareness by highlighting such cases, adding that even successful professionals could fall victim to scams if they are not careful.
'I also encourage the public to be vigilant regarding their elderly parents. Don't assume that they won't get scammed just because they are not tech-savvy.
'Most scammers know how to guide senior citizens through banking transactions involving large sums of money,' Eng said.
Those who believe they may have fallen victim to scams can report their concerns to the National Scam Response Centre by dialling 997, or may contact their nearest police station for assistance. For those in Johor, the police hotline can be reached at 07-221 2999.
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