Man in Malaysia loses over S$7,000 in sperm donation scam
A man in Malaysia was scammed of RM25,000 (S$7,678) after falling for an online sperm donation scam.
The case involving the 49-year-old victim, identified as Mr Lee, came to light on Tuesday (24 Sept) at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.
Mr Lee explained that he responded to an online ad in September offering to “buy sperm at a high price to get pregnant.”
Malaysian news outlet The Star reported that he was later contacted by a woman named Chen via WhatsApp, who gave him the contact number of a “lawyer”.
The woman claimed to be from Singapore.
“The other party said that the lawyer would be solely responsible for negotiating with me,” he said, adding that he was promised a reward of RM1 million (S$307,152) if he could make Ms Chen pregnant.
Mr Lee also confirmed that the sperm-selling process would involve sexual intercourse.
When asked why the other party “chose” him, he explained that they had exchanged photos, and the woman said she was attracted to him because he looked “mature and stable”.
Victim was made to pay fees
The victim also shared a voice message from Ms Chen stating that he should first pay a deposit of RM1,000 (S$307) to the lawyer’s bank account.
According to the woman, this was to test Mr Lee’s ability and sincerity.
Once paid, the lawyer will contact him to sign a confidentiality agreement and give him an advanced payment of RM300,000 (S$92,145).
After the agreement is signed, Ms Chen would arrange hotel accommodations and cover all expenses.
However, the lawyer told Mr Lee that to receive the RM300,000 advance, he needed to pay a RM24,000 (S$7,371) handling fee.
He transferred the RM24,000 but was later told he had to pay an additional RM30,000 (S$9,214) for international transfer fees, which made him realise he had been scammed.
Scammers may be part of a local syndicate
Mr Lee then sought help from Malaysian authorities to look into the scam.
MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong suspects that the scammers are part of a local syndicate due to their use of local legal firms.
After reaching out to the law firm mentioned in the scam, it was confirmed that Ms Chen was not a client and that the scammers had misused the firm’s name.
He also pointed out that the woman’s voice had a non-local accent and sounded robotic, which Mr Lee unfortunately failed to notice.
“They also exploited Lee’s poor reading literacy, allowing him to overlook the broken language in the agreement,” Mr Chong added.
Also read: 20-year-old US-based S’porean charged in S$300M crypto scam, splurged on luxury cars & nightclubs
20-year-old US-based S’porean charged in S$300M crypto scam, splurged on luxury cars & nightclubs
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Featured image adapted from Sin Chew Daily
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