Student cheated by female con artist in naked-chat scam

A 20-year-old university student, surnamed Ooi, claims to have lost RM$2,000 (US$466) to a con artist posing as a Filipina of the same age in a naked-chat scam in Malaysia.

At 5pm on July 4, Ooi, who lives in Petaling Jaya, a satellite town near Kuala Lumpur, met a woman named Irene over a mobile app “Hi”, Sin Chew Daily reported. At 10pm, Ooi received a naked video from the woman via Skype and was requested by her to have a naked chat.

Ooi followed her suggestion and took off his clothes in front of his mobile phone camera. On the morning of July 5, he was blackmailed by the woman, who threaten to circulate the naked video of him that she had taken during the chat.

Ooi borrowed RM$2,000 from friends and transferred the money to the scammer in three payments between July 5 and 10. On July 11, Irene asked for another RM$1,000 but Ooi said he had no more money. He called the police.

Datuk Seri Michael Chong, director of the Malaysian Chinese Association’s Public Services and Complaint Department, told the Guang Ming Daily that the department had handled 22 cases of blackmailing since 2015.

Of the 22 cases, 16 involved naked-chat scams and most of the victims were young men, Chong said. Netizens are advised not to send naked photos or videos to strangers or try to settle matters by transferring money, he said.