A married woman has been cheated out of about US$1.46 million (11.7 million patacas) by a man who claimed to be a British petroleum engineer, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Choi Ian Fai said yesterday.

According to Choi, the victim is an unemployed local resident who is in her forties.

Choi said the victim met the suspect on Facebook in March. After swapping phone numbers, they talked to each other on WhatsApp. Choi said the victim soon fell in love with the suspect.

According to Choi, the victim has never met the suspect in person.

The suspect told the victim on June 8 that he would transfer US$15 million to the victim for their future together, Choi said. The suspect also told the victim that he would transfer the money from bank accounts in various places, such as Thailand and the UK as he worried a large amount of money would make the local government suspicious.

The victim also told the police that later some people who claimed to be bank employees in Thailand and the UK called her via WhatsApp, asking her to pay a total of US$1.46 million in service charges for the money. However, the victimhas never received any remittance from the suspect, Choi said.

According to Choi, the victim’s family members found out that a lot of money was missing from her bank account. After asking the victim about the matter, she and her family realised she had been cheated. The victim then asked the police for help on Sunday, Choi said, adding the police are still looking for the suspects involved in the scam.