It looks like scammers are targeting senior citizens these days and getting good at it too because they have found another victim and took off with more than RM20,000 of valuables!
According to China Press, the incident happened on March 31 in Bentong to a 71-year-old woman surnamed Wong who was not married. She was living with her sister and nephew and on that fateful day, she had gone to the market to help her nephew at his stall and was walking back to her motorcycle when two women in their 30s approached her.
Source: China Press
One of them asked her for help and said that they were looking for a bomoh because her mother-in-law was sick and she heard that there was a famous one in Bentong. “I said I didn’t know where but suddenly another woman behind me said that she knows where the bomoh is and they were nearby. At that time I was feeling like I was under a spell and followed both of them on their search,” she said.
The three of them went up a street and led Wong to a waiting black car nearby. Inside the car, another woman was waiting and suddenly she told Wong that she had a bad aura and that her luck was not looking too good, as if something terrible was going to happen to her. To prevent this from happening, the woman told Wong that she had to take out all her savings and valuables, especially her gold jewellery so that she could help Wong change her luck.
Source: Freepik
In a daze, Wong went back to her motorcycle and headed straight home to take out her valuables. She dug out all her gold jewellery and even saw her sister at home. Wong said, “I even told my sister I was going out to meet some friends and rode my motorcycle to the same spot as before.”
Not content with the huge amount of jewellery, the three crooks told Wong that they needed cash to perform the ritual and like an obedient puppet, she agreed. They brought her to the nearest bank where Wong withdrew RM1,000 and handed it to them as well.
Source: China Press
Once they were back in the car, the “bomoh” proceeded to perform a ritual and at the end she put all the jewellery amounting to RM20,000 and the RM1,000 cash into a plastic bag. She gave it to Wong and told her that she must keep it close for 10 days otherwise the ritual would not work.
Wong headed home in a daze and managed to work as usual but felt rather confused and disorientated for about three days before she realised what she had done. She snapped to her senses and quickly took out the plastic bag. To her horror, she discovered two bottles of mineral water and one bag of salt inside.
Source: India Mart
She was horrified that she had fallen victim to these scammers and lamented the loss of her jewellery. She had purchased them with the money she had saved when she worked in Singapore previously. How dare they cheat a poor old lady’s money! Although she wanted to make a police report, she said that she did not have enough proof and hoped that her story would serve as a warning for others out there. Wong also said that she hoped there would be more police officers patrolling the area as well.
These scammers seem to be targeting the elderly and appearing at markets more and more frequently. Warn all your friends and family to stay alert!
Also read: Elderly M’sian Woman Loses Life Savings After Stranger Scammed Her in Section 17 Market
