JOHOR BARU: “Nude video chat” syndicates are on the prowl, luring men – many of them married – using women as bait, to eventually extort money from them.
Deputy MCA national public complaints and service bureau chief Chua Jian Boon said the number of cases involving nude video chat syndicates was on the rise, adding that he received 15 reports in August alone.
He said the male victims, who were from Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Johor Baru and Kulai, as well as Malaysians working in Singapore, had got to know the women through social media.
“Once they started chatting online, the women would invite the men for a video chat at night to get to know each other better.
“During the chat, both of them would remove their clothes and interact in the nude. The difference is that the women would usually not reveal their faces,” he said in an interview.
The victims, said Chua, would only find out that their actions had been recorded when the women called them asking for money after the video chat.
“The victims were extorted for as low as RM300 and up to S$2,700 (RM8,370), with threats that the footage would be released online should they not pay up.
“Some of them gave the money to the women in the hope of having their videos deleted.
“But when the women kept gradually increasing the amount, the victims could no longer take it and decided to come to us for help,” he said, adding that many were too embarrassed to come forward.
The victims, added Chua, ranged in ages from 21 to 42, with most of them being married.
He advised the public not to easily trust strangers, especially those whom they had never met, by giving them money or compromising photos and videos.
Iskandar Puteri OCPD Asst Comm Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said they had 35 such cases since January, involving mostly Malaysians.
He said a 22-year-old foreign woman had been arrested under Section 384 of the Penal Code for extortion. Her mobile device and bank cards were seized as well.
“A similar modus operandi was used on the victims,” said ACP Dzulkhairi.