Penang acting police chief Alwi Zainal Abidin said the 53-year-old woman, who works at a factory in Bayan Lepas here, came into contact with the man in February last year.

“According to the victim, she was introduced to the man through her aunt, who attended a seminar in Kuala Lumpur with him.

“The aunt intended to matchmake her with the man, known as Perry Chan, who claimed to be residing in Ottawa, Canada.

“Throughout their acquaintance, the victim only communicated with the man via WhatsApp,” Alwi said.

In March 2024, the man told her he was running an electric grip installation business with the Oman government and sought her help to transfer funds through his account.

He said the money was for the purchase of raw materials for his project but claimed that internet access in Oman was unstable.

Alwi said the victim then assisted by accessing the man’s account and made transfers as instructed.

However, she received a call informing her that the transfers had failed as they involved different countries.

He said the man then asked the victim to make advance payments for bank service charges, promising to reimburse her.

From March 28 to Aug 18, 2024, the victim made 58 transactions into nine different local bank accounts amounting to a total of RM1.936 million.

In September 2024, the suspect told the woman that he had deposited a cheque for US$404,500 into a Heritage Asset Bank Oman account to repay her.

She was then contacted by a person, claiming to be the bank’s customer service officer in Malaysia, who informed her she needed to make payments to cash the cheque.

He said from Sept 25, 2024 till July 4 this year, the victim made another 13 transactions into five different local bank accounts involving RM399,407, allegedly as payment for cashing the cheque.

Further investigations are underway.