RECENTLY, a local man in his 30s has been targeting potential sympathetic victims with maternity bills at hospitals and clinics around Kelantan to cheat them out of their money.
According to a report by Harian Metro, the scammer’s modus operandi for the past few months is to put on an air of grievance complete with tears to lure in victims with a sob story of having no money to pay for his ‘wife’s’ maternity treatment at the hospital, which many people have fallen for.
This includes a bridal boutique owner, Siti Nurul Salsabila, who said she and her younger brother encountered the man at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Hospital in Kubang Kerian.
“While we were waiting for our sister-in-law to give birth, the man approached us and requested to talk alone with my younger brother. I felt something was odd, so I approached them a few minutes later, and I saw my brother holding his mobile phone. He had just finished transferring RM190 to the man,“ the 27-year-old told the portal.
“The man told him that he didn’t have enough money to pay for his wife’s maternity bills while crying and promised to pay back the next evening,” she shared.
Later on, Siti added that they attempted to reach out to the man the next day but failed.
The siblings realised they were probably scammed; hence they lodged a police report. However, the police informed them that they were not the only victims.
She then took it upon herself to raise awareness about this incident on Facebook and was met with many comments, including from victims who related to her experience.
A victim shared her husband’s experience who the man almost scammed after he withdrew some cash out of the automated teller machine (ATM) at the Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital (HRPZ II), months ago.
“The man begged for help because he wanted to settle his wife’s maternity bill amounting to RM140 but my husband did not give as the money he took out was enough for his own expenses. Shortly after that, I found out that the man had been working for a long time to earn money in an easy way at the hospital and many had already become victims,” she said.