Jempol district police chief Hoo Chang Hook said the 58-year-old man, a private sector retiree and now working as a rubber tapper, claimed to have met a Singaporean woman through Facebook and the woman claimed to be living in Australia.

Hoo said the complainant said he had lost his savings in the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) after trusting the woman, who claimed she had financial problems and needed to resolve some business dealings.

“They had been in a virtual relationship since early February, communicating solely through the WhatsApp application and never making any phone or video calls throughout the period.

“During the relationship, the woman told him about the crude oil business that she was doing overseas and had asked the man to lend her money to complete some business dealings,” he said in a statement here today.

He said the complainant agreed to lend the woman a sum of money and made six transactions totalling RM99,000 on June 9 and 10.

Hoo added that the complainant only realised he had been deceived when the woman once again asked the complainant to deposit a sum of RM131,000 on the grounds that her company’s financial problems were still unresolved.

Police urged the public to be cautious and not get easily entangled in dubious relationships and become victims of fraud.