ALOR SETAR: A retiree lost RM220,500 in a love scam after getting to know a “doctor” through social media.

       The 60-year-old woman from Pendang said she had befriended a man who introduced himself as “Amran Mohammad Ali” through Facebook in November last year, said Kedah Commercial Crime Investigation Department chief Supt Elias Omar.

       “The victim, whose husband died in 2008, continued communicating via WhatsApp with the suspect, who claimed he was a doctor in Syria.”

       Eventually, the “doctor” asked the woman to transfer a sum of money to him as he was always facing difficulties, said Supt Elias in a statement yesterday.

       He added that the woman deposited the money into seven separate accounts via 51 ATM transactions between December 2021 and May this year.

       The woman then realised that she had been cheated.

       She lodged a police report on Sunday at the Pendang district police headquarters, he said, adding that the case was being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.

       He also advised the public to check bank accounts or suspicious telephone numbers through the website http://ccid.rmp.gov.my/semakmule/. — Bernama