Malaysian women fleeced in online scams

The frauds happened despite extensive campaigns and media coverage, said Mortadza Nazarene of the Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigations Department, The Star daily reported.

"Among the women targeted are those who are lonely, gullible, seeking love and those seen to be greedy," Mortadza added.

Malaysians fell victim in 14,627 cases of cyber scams that cost them a total of 1.09 billion ringgit (270 million dollars) last year, the police official added.

Mortadza blamed an influx of foreign cyber criminals for the problem.

"The cyber criminals gain entry into this country by posing as students. In most of the cases, the perpetrators are foreigners who set up their base in Malaysia," he said.

- DPA