By Stuart Grudgings

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Hundreds of American women are being ensnared by Internet scammers based in Malaysia, with some losing over a quarter of a million dollars, as the country becomes an epicenter for online crime perpetrated by Africans, U.S. officials say.

The mostly Nigerian conmen, who enter Malaysia on student visas, take advantage of the country's good Internet infrastructure to prey on lonely, middle-aged women, wooing them on dating websites before swindling their savings, they said.

The scams are more sophisticated than most Nigeria-based operations - which most Internet users have experienced at some time either via email or advertising - helped by Malaysia's advanced banking system, which allows perpetrators to quickly set up accounts and receive international transfers.

U.S. officials say Malaysian police lack the resources and expertise to tackle the problem and have yet to launch a single prosecution of a case involving a U.S. victim.

Malaysian police were reported by local media last December as saying that the number of Internet scam cases more than doubled in 2013 with total losses of more than $11 million. A total of 476 Africans had been apprehended for suspected involvement, the report said.

The Malaysian police and the Nigerian embassy in Kuala Lumpur did not respond to Reuters' request for comment. A spokesman for Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said he was not aware of scammers operating in Malaysia, but added they were known to have international networks.

Tim Scherer, consul general at the U.S. embassy in Kuala Lumpur, told Reuters that complaints about such scams now made up more than 80 percent of inquiries to duty officers at the mission, with a dozen new cases reported every week.

Citizens of Australia, Canada and Europe had also been targeted, he said.

"These are not rich widows who are being preyed on, these are middle-class Americans who don't have this kind of money to spare," he said. "It can really transform their lives in a very terrible way."

The U.S. embassy estimates that U.S. victims are losing several million dollars a year, with two women in the past 12 months losing more than $250,000 each. There are more than 600 cases a year, and the amount lost by each victim averages in the tens of thousands of dollars, it said.

The actual figure of total losses is probably far higher, Scherer said, because many victims are too embarrassed to come forward or do not know who to contact. He said the scammers were highly sophisticated, often grooming victims for months and using convincing techniques such as forging letters purportedly from the U.S. ambassador in Malaysia.

FAKE ROMANCE

Large teams of scammers typically trawl dating or Christian websites and contact middle-aged women, the U.S. officials said. They pretend to be a Western man who then gets into legal or business difficulties in Muslim-majority Malaysia.

One U.S. victim told Reuters she transferred a total of$260,000 to Malaysia, where the man who claimed to love her said he was being prevented from returning to the United States by Malaysian bureaucracy - which required hefty payments to negotiate.

The 59-year-old widow from Phoenix, Arizona, who declined to be identified, said she had gone heavily into debt to make the payments to "Charles", and even flew to Malaysia in March to meet him. He never showed up, but a European woman claiming to be his lawyer managed to bilk another $25,000 out of the woman before she returned to Arizona.

Another victim, a women in her late 50s in the eastern United States, said she sent her life savings of $300,000 over two months to a Malaysia-based "American" man she met on dating site Match.com, three years after her husband died.

"I felt like I was in love with this man and we'd be moving forward with a life together real soon," she told Reuters.

Match.com did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. Along with other major U.S.-based dating sites, it features prominent warnings about scammers, specifically telling users to be wary of people who say they are Americans based abroad.

STUDENT SCAM

The conmen have exploited Malaysia's drive to become a global education hub, securing student visas to attend college, the U.S. officials said.

Malaysia has pursued a policy of attracting international students for more than a decade, allowing dozens of foreign colleges to set up Malaysian campuses.

Scherer said it was likely that many of the Nigerians in Malaysia were not genuine students. As of March, there were 9,146 Nigerians on student visas in Malaysia, the education ministry said, out of 123,000 overseas students in total.

"Once in the country as students, there's very little effort to verify their studies," Scherer said.

An official with Malaysia's education ministry said that last year it tightened its vetting and tracking of overseas students.

"We are aware of problems with some international students, especially Nigerians," the official said.

(Additional reporting by Tim Cocks in LAGOS; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)




https://reuters/news/american-women-targeted-malaysia-becomes-internet-scam-haven-210519106.html

I asked a friend how on earth do Women still fall prey to these conmen considering the huge awareness created worldwide on the web and various media on internet fraud and false love.. He simply smiled and said. A MAGA IS BORN EVERYDAY.

I can't but agreed with him reading through the article. Imagine that ladsy who transfer a whooping $250k of ur life savings to a guy u never met, even if he was Micheal jackson? SMH

The problem is dt d malaysian govt does nt allow foreign students to work at all nt even for one hour n dts nt fair. Hw do dey survive so naija boys must survive

man must chop ..they call Nigerians illiterates and fools,but does not know that they are the most daft creatures ever born..they call Nigerians clueless without knowing that they are really the clueless one ..

I beta hold on to my NIGGA BLOKOS O!
I never knew they were in such high demand.
So WHITE women are paying millions for illiterate, NIGERIAN blokoses in MALAYSIA kwa nu?

Wonders!

Naija I hail o!

We all should condemn the act together,and not playing the ethnicity card all the time. When are we go to rise as an entity against common enemy? Africa,and Nigeria still have a long way to go.

I know about this since a long time and how this scamers from malaysia work but not only malaysia.

I have the photo of one scamer who live in Nigeria, I know his real face and his real name.

This guys are so good what they are doing but not good enought because we work that we can help woman not to lose their money.
It is a hard work but every woman I could help is good for me and bad for the scamer.

The scamers in Malaysia working in groups that is what is very dangerous.

For me it is not important to which tribe he belong more important is to find out his real face and his real name.

prophylaxis: The problem is dt d malaysian govt does nt allow foreign students to work at all nt even for one hour n dts nt fair. Hw do dey survive so naija boys must survive

One finds it irritating when we try to justify what is transparently clear to all an act of avarice contrived in the most sophisticated of manner.

Fact, Nigerians aren't the only set of students of foreign background in Malaysia.

Fact, the conditions for studying in Malaysia which are well dictated for each and every foreign student before, during and after visa issuance include the exclusion from working.

Fact, the inherent quest to hit the big-time overnight has morphed from being a culture to a deadly malaise smearing the reputation of each and every Nigerian upstanding or not.

There is no justification for the rapaciousness of the Nigerian youth. While It is mostly true our leaders, parents and religious organizations have failed us, the onus rests on us to channel our resources in the most positive of ways rather than feeding off the negativity and circumventing even further a shimmering future filled with hope.

The article expresses the high-speed, high-tech nature of the Malaysian cyber network. If positively exploited the Nigerian contingent could find a a niche through which licit pecuniary gains could be made.

The future is of the Nigerian youth if only he/she recognizes it. We are creative, adventurous and daring. Who dares to say we cannot compete with the likes of Beats by Dre' and Angry Birds from Rovio?

Take the evil out of the people and they'll be acting right. The need to eschew and exorcise this trait of cupidity reads loudly more than ever.

Shame, we haven't identified its presence.

;Dproudly naija!

Naija guys will stop scamming US and European citizens when they stop accepting African leaders looted money in their countries.

#ThatMyTwoCent

nickz: ase!! none of my buisness!! doesn't pay my bills so why should i care so go find something more mentally demanding to do than brag about something you do not even profit from!

omo enahh....yhu claim yhu dnt care and you waste your life away here.... sorry o

ahkenaten: omo enahh....yhu claim yhu dnt care and you waste your life away here.... sorry o

ok!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!you have officially been NOTICED now buzz off!!