‘Lonely hearts’ exploited: Love scams prey on elderly women, causing RM45.9m in losses in 2024; Facebook, WhatsApp apps of choice to find victims  

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 — Elderly lonely women aged 61 and above were the highest demographic deceived by love scam syndicates based on statistics throughout 2024.

Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said that 173 elderly women aged 61 and above were ensnared by love scams last year, according to a report published in Harian Metro today.

According to him, the total losses recorded last year for love scam frauds increased from RM43.9 million in 2023 to RM45.9 million in 2024.

He said that out of the 770 love scam cases recorded last year, 75.6 per cent or 582 victims were women, while the remaining 188 victims were men.

“The same trend was also recorded in 2023, where 79.6 per cent or 744 victims were women and the remaining 191 victims (20.4 per cent) were men.

“Love scams are a category of fraud carried out by individuals or groups by manipulating the emotions and feelings of victims to gain benefits, especially financially.

“The tactics used by the syndicates are increasingly complex and varied, causing many victims to fall into their traps unknowingly,” he said at a press conference at KPJ Tower, here today.

According to him, based on data analysis, CCID found that the applications most frequently used by syndicates to find victims are Facebook and WhatsApp.

He added that 335 cases were reported last year involving the Facebook platform, while 299 cases were reported involving WhatsApp in 2024.