KUALA LUMPUR – Scammers have perfected their craft as they are changing their modus operandi in engaging with victims based on the victim’s traits, interests, and age groups, as well as being more subtle in their manipulation schemes, said a crime prevention specialist.
Shamir Rajadurai, co-founder of Prevent Crime Now says that the scammers, in particular those who engage in love scams, have learned to be less persuasive in asking for money from their victims and put a lot of effort into building a rapport instead, making themselves very appealing to their targets.
These scammers, he added, have also done their background research on the people they target. However, proper background research begins the minute victims start engaging.
“One of the things they do to keep you interested in them is something called mirroring where they will just mirror whatever you say and make it sound like you’re having the best conversation (so) you get “so sucked” into it – and you would be just thinking about this person every day.
“(It would make the victims) want to talk to (the scammers), but actually what they are doing is that they are speaking based on their victim’s interests.
“They will share a little bit of their background just to make that story fit, and then everything else is just about you,” he said as a guest on Scoop Insights podcast episode on love scam held by PODaBOOM, the podcast arm of Big Boom Media.
The episode, hosted by radio personality and Big Boom Media’s head of podcast Shazmin Shamsuddin, will be aired tomorrow.
Shamir was responding to another guest on the podcast, Maria, who fell victim to a love scam by someone who adopted the persona of an Australian offshore engineer based in Indonesia who also claimed to be a divorcee with two children.
Falling for an ‘Australian engineer’
In sharing her experience as a warning tale to the public, Maria shared how the scammer built a rapport with her by reaching out to her through social media by commenting on her social media postings on her baking and cooking activities.
This individual would keep asking questions about her postings, where he would ask for recipes and the techniques for preparing the dishes and she would respond accordingly. One day, he sent a friend request – which she then accepted.
From there, they began to have conversations about personal things often centred around Maria.
“(He would ask) What do you do? How do you spend your time? Why do you like to cook? And recipes…asking about certain herbs, ingredients, and things I liked.
“He told me that he would like to come (to Malaysia) to meet me in December – before or after Christmas – and that he will get an Airbnb.
“He also said that he would like to do a Christmas activity where he would like to cook, and let me taste his cooking,” she said, adding that he appealed to her sensibilities and being respectful – which she adored.
Maria’s conversations with the man went well until he told her that his alimony payments got stuck due to issues with his bank account, and his ex-wife was sending him letters from her lawyer.
After asking the man if he had anyone to help him, he told her that he was very new in Indonesia so did not have many people there to help him. He also said that his employer was not very helpful and that his family back in Australia was not very responsive.
He would frequently express how he was in a very desperate situation, wishing that anyone would help him.
Maria was compelled to help him but held back in the beginning. So, she began suggesting ways he could deal with his problems based on her background in finance. Yet, he would keep coming back to her with reasons until one day, he told Maria that he wished he could ask for her help.
Maria eventually agreed to help him and transferred money to a foreign bank account number provided by the man. He thanked her for the help and promised he would pay her back when he meets her in December.
However, two days after the transaction, she messaged him but he did not reply. He also went offline on social media as well.
“I haven’t heard from him since. I sat and asked myself: What on earth have I done? And then it hit me: Oh my God. I think I’ve just been – didn’t want to use the word – but (I got) scammed,” she added.
Maria did not reveal the sum of money given to the scammer as it was emotionally painful for her to do so.
Different demographics, different persona
Shamir said that Maria’s case is an example of how the scammers have resorted to manipulating their victims into giving them money instead of directly asking for money – which was the modus operandi used by scammers in the past.
He also said that these scammers are smart, well-versed in psychology and capable of preparing proper scripts to engage with different types of victims.
“In Maria’s case, I think while they were chatting with her, they realised: He (the persona) was very respectful, so let us keep it that way. Let us not ask her outright for money. Let her bring up the suggestion (to give the money),” he said.
Additionally, Shamir also said that the scammers often create personas relatable to victims of different age groups by adopting Korean male personalities which seem to be attractive to those between 21 to 30, and retiree or army veteran personas for targets in their 40s and 50s. He also said that these scammers would steal photos from other people to build fake profiles.
They would prey on younger victims through social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, as well as on dating apps like Tinder. Meanwhile, they target older victims through Facebook.
Love scam is prevalent in Malaysia, with Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf reportedly saying that women make up the majority of love scam victims in this country, comprising 79.3% of the 2,223 cases recorded from 2022 to August 2024.
To avoid falling prey to such scams, Shamir suggested people utilise artificial intelligence (AI) tools available online to help them with “reverse searching” the photos of those who have reached out to them online, in a bid to determine the authenticity of the photos.
The public can also get these people to send them video clips under the pretence of requesting birthday wishes, where they can use scam detection AI software like Norton Genie and Bitdefender Scamio to screen videos to determine whether they are deepfakes or not.
“These are one of the easier ways of doing (authenticity verification) before you get into conversation with them,” he said.
However, if they realise they got scammed, Shamir suggested victims immediately contact their respective banks and seek help in blocking the transactions.
“If you did an online transaction now, a lot of (banking) apps have a kill switch now. Hit that (switch).
“Do not waste your time. Do not call anyone else. Call the bank. You want to be able to try to secure your money or not lose as much money,” he stressed. – January 16, 2025