Loneliness is among the factors why Malaysian women fall prey to cyber love scams, said Bukit Aman Commercial Crimes Investigation Department deputy director Commissioner of Police Datuk Wira Hamza Taib.

He said the victims were mostly career women who were proficient in English, thus making them easy victims to the "predators".

"The predators are slick operators and load pictures of handsome men like Shah Rukh Khan, but in reality they are Africans," he told reporters after opening the new Cherating police station near here Wednesday.

Also present was Pahang deputy police chief DCP Datuk Fatimah Ghazali.

It was reported Tuesday that "cyber love" crimes involving Malaysian women was becoming increasingly worrying with the victims losing more than RM56 million last year.