KUALA LUMPUR: Most victims of love scams last year were those aged 60 and above.
Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said this marked a shift from the previous year, where the majority of victims were aged between 41 and 50.
"A total of 770 love scam cases were recorded in 2024, a reduction of 165 cases compared to 935 recorded in 2023.
"Despite the decrease in cases, total losses increased from RM43.9 million in 2023 to RM45.9 million in 2024," he told reporters.
In 2024, 335 cases originated on Facebook, while 299 began on WhatsApp.
"Facebook and WhatsApp were the platforms most frequently used by criminals to target victims," he said.
Similar patterns were seen in 2023, with 370 cases starting on Facebook and 332 on WhatsApp.
Ramli added that women remain the majority of love scam victims.
"Of the 770 cases recorded in 2024, 75.6 per cent, or 582 victims, were women, while the remaining 118 victims were men," he said.
Earlier today, Ramli said that commercial crime cases had led to total losses of RM3.11 billion in 2024, with fraud topping the list by a significant margin.
He added that the department had opened 37,240 investigation papers for fraud alone, resulting in losses of RM2.45 billion.