Romance scammers recognise that people will go to great lengths to find love, says Dr Goh Chee Leong, HELP University vice-president and dean of its Faculty of Behavioural Sciences.

“The desire to be loved and to find someone special is a desire that everyone has and a desire that can be very strong,” he told FMT.

“The idea here is that people will cross great lengths to find love and obviously these romance scammers have recognised this great desire and need, and they take advantage of it.”

He said matchmaking platforms would appeal to those who may be withdrawn and don’t have large social networks through which to make friends and perhaps find love.

Goh, who is the current president of the Malaysian Psychological Association, said matchmaking platforms “in and of themselves” were not a bad thing.

“Not everyone has a hundred friends, not everybody feels at ease going out to social events or to restaurants or to meet strangers in pubs. Not everyone is comfortable with those social settings.

“Matchmaking platforms appeal to people who might not have very large social circles.”

Earlier this week, Singaporean police said in a statement that 27 suspects had been arrested in various Malaysian states in a cross-border operation against syndicates running love scams on the Internet.

The operation was jointly conducted between Feb 6 and Feb 8 by Malaysia’s Commercial Crime Investigation Department and Singapore’s Commercial Affairs Department.

Goh stressed that the victims should not be blamed for falling for the scams as it was human nature to seek friendship, love and romance.

“In this situation, the victims shouldn’t be victimised again,” he said. “Their desire to find someone special is natural and should not be faulted. It is the scammers who are to blame.”