A Kuantan-area woman was forced to file a police report after loan sharks began to threaten her with blackmail over a nude photo they were holding as collateral for a RM5,000 (US$1,250) cash injection she requested last month.
The 29-year-old engineer was initially asked to provide the predatory money lenders with a copy of her identity card, a salary slip, a bank statement, a utility bill, and a nude picture of herself in order to get the loan approved. The woman complied, sending the information to the syndicate, which advertised via Facebook.
On Christmas Day, she received a message confirming that she had been approved for the RM5,000 loan. However, shortly after receiving the message, the syndicate sent a very different sort of communication, demanding that she deposit money into a bank account, or face having her photo leaked.
Over five days, the victim made a series of transactions into three different bank accounts to the tune of RM17,985 (US$4,400). The group then demanded that the woman send them another RM15,000, at which point the victim decided to turn to Pahang police. She went to Kuantan’s district police headquarters on Monday to file a report.
Officers are now investigating the matter, and police have reminded the public to not share sensitive information with unknown individuals.
Indeed, the case is a pointed reminder to all of us to be careful about who you’re sending nudes to — no ex-boyfriends, no fuccbois, no guys you just met on Tinder, and definitely no loan sharks.
