KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 1 — A young Malaysian woman was scammed out of almost RM20,000 when she tried to buy Labubu dolls from an Instagram seller.

The victim in her twenties reportedly made a successful purchase of one item, before she decided to order a few more of the popular toys.

The woman initially paid RM1,987 (S$600) for a popular version of the doll according to China Press, believing that the account with over 3,000 followers and many positive customer reviewers was legitimate.

After getting her first order, she was confident as a result of the good experience and proceeded to place a larger, second order.

The seller asked the woman to transfer the payment online in five installments to five different bank accounts, which she did to the tune of S$6,000 (RM19,870).

She however did not receive updates on the delivery and attempted to text the seller two days later — only to find out that she had been blocked.

It is reported that the modus operandi has been used by at least one scammer to earn the trust of buyers.