Malaysia-based African internet scammers target lonely foreigners
Hundreds lose cash, some up to US$250,000, as Malaysia becomes base for African scammers
Hundreds of foreign women are being ripped off by internet romance scammers based in Malaysia, some losing up to US$250,000, as the country becomes an epicentre for online crime perpetrated by Africans.
US officials said the mostly Nigerian conmen, who enter Malaysia on student visas, were taking advantage of the country's good internet infrastructure to prey on lonely, middle-aged women, wooing them on dating websites.The scams are more sophisticated than most Nigeria-based operations, and are helped by Malaysia's advanced banking system.
The victims are mostly American. US officials say Malaysian police lack the resources and expertise to tackle the problem and have yet to launch a single prosecution of a case involving a US victim.
Malaysian police were reported by local media last December as saying that the number of internet scam cases more than doubled last year with total losses of more than US$11 million. A total of 476 Africans had been apprehended for suspected involvement, the report said.
Tim Scherer, consul general at the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur, said complaints about such scams now made up more than 80 per cent of inquiries, with a dozen new cases reported every week.
Australians, Canadians and Europeans were also targets.