Malaysian loses P50k to 'Pinay' in online blackmail scam

A Malaysian salesman lost the equivalent of P50,000 after falling prey to a "beautiful Filipina" who turned out to be a cyber-blackmailer.

 

The salesman, Kelvin Chong, 37, said the woman had him wire the money to Marikina City, Malaysia's The Star Online reported Wednesday.

 

Chong said the blackmail occurred May 2, two weeks after he struck up an online relationship with a woman who introduced herself as "Sarah Mae" via social media site Tagged.

 

On May 1, he said the woman sent him a Facebook message inviting him to show himself nude to her via Skype, if she did the same. He sent the woman four erotic photos of himself.

 

But the shocker came the next day, when the woman sent him a list of his family members and friends on Facebook, and threatened to expose his nude video clip.

 

She initially demanded RM2,500, and Chong wired the amount to an address in Marikina City via a money transfer service.

 

The woman then called him again and demanded another RM2,500, but Chong managed to convince the woman to settle for RM800, which he wired on May 3.

 

Chong narrated his tale to Malaysian Crime Awareness public services and complaints department chief Datuk Seri Michael Chong.

 

MCA's Chong said his department had handled 10 "sextortion" cases since 2012, with men being the victims in six of the cases.

 

“You will be paying until you die. Don’t pay; fight to the end and don’t even give one cent,” he advised victims.

 

He added cases of “sextortion” involving Filipinas were becoming common in the region.

 

The Star Online noted there were about 600 such cases in Hong Kong, leading to the detention of 58 Filipinos there. — Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News