5 days ago
Retiree falls for fake sperm donor offer, loses life savings
KUALA LUMPUR: A 57-year-old retiree lost his life savings of RM161,000 after falling victim to an online scam involving a fake offer to become a sperm donor for a woman supposedly from Hong Kong.
The victim, identified only as Tan, said he is now penniless and unable even to afford a bus ticket home.
Tan recounted that in early February, he came across a Facebook advertisement offering HKD2 million (about RM1 million) in exchange for helping a housewife, who was allegedly desperate to have a child.
"Soon after, I was contacted by a man claiming to be her lawyer. He informed me that I had been selected to be with Lee Na to help her conceive.
"I was shocked and asked why I was chosen. He said it was because I had a handsome face," Tan said during a press conference at Wisma MCA today.
The 'lawyer' then asked him to make several payments including RM10,000, RM30,000 and RM1,000 supposedly for registration fees, travel expenses, and other costs.
Tan said he proceeded with the payments in March, lured by the promise of receiving RM390,000 after all formalities were completed.
However, following the transactions, he was contacted by his bank and warned that he could be a victim of a scam.
Tan said he confronted the 'lawyer', who continued to reassure him of the payout but requested an additional RM120,000, allegedly to cover the fees of two medical specialists from the United States.
"I made three more transfers for that. Then I asked to meet the woman, as I had only been dealing with the lawyer. I even requested a video call, but he refused."
The lawyer continued to make excuses, giving repeated assurances that the promised RM1 million would be paid.
It was only then that Tan realised he had been scammed.
He lodged a police report and sought help from the MCA Public Services and Complaints Department.
Its head Datuk Seri Michael Chong said the victim admitted that his decision was foolish, but still came forward in hopes of preventing others from falling into similar traps.
"This is the second case of its kind we've received in recent times. Last year, we handled a similar complaint.
"I urge the authorities to step up monitoring of Facebook advertisements, especially those involving potential scams like this," he said.
