WE hear stories of people being scammed on a daily basis these days.
If we are not careful ourselves and if luck is not on our side, we may end up having our own stories to tell, as scammers are steps ahead of many of us in utilising modern technology to set the traps.
What is alarming is that these scams are usually cases involving a lot of money. They include lonely women being conned of their hard-earned money by online "suitors", and senior citizens who suddenly find their life-savings had been deposited into bogus investment schemes.
It was not surprising then when Dream Film Sdn Bhd decided to produce a film based on this subject.
Currently showing in cinemas, 'Oppa' tells the story of a "love scam" crime.
"What I find a little strange is that some of the victims of these scams are people who are educated, those who we don't usually think are the type that can be easily duped.
"But the fact remains that some of the victims are those who have good jobs and people with cash," says 'Oppa' director Denil Choong Lin Loong a.k.a. Captain Denil.
"So it all boils down to the fact that there is still little awareness among us, which leads to many still becoming victims of various scam cases.
"This scenario has inspired me to come up with 'Oppa', and I hope it will help spread awareness to the general public."
Choong is grateful to the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), which collaborated with the production team through its Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID).
"All the policemen you see on the screen are real officers. Thanks to PDRM, there are about 80 of them altogether who were involved in this film," he shares.
PDRM is stepping up its anti-scam campaign efforts with this collaboration, touted to be the first anti-scam awareness movie in the country.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department's assistant director (intelligence) Supt Mohd Faizal Zainal says the film, which is based on true stories of online love scams, is one of PDRM's new initiatives to educate the public through an alternative medium and raise awareness on online scams.
"We, at PDRM, always welcome any form of prevention for the community, especially through various mechanisms. We offer prevention all the time in conventional ways, such as talks or video clips.
"However, this time we are taking the entertainment route because we believe that the community is closer to what we are trying to convey," he explains.
'Oppa' tells the story of a teacher Tien (played by Jacqueline Goh Wan Yi) who thinks that she is in a relationship with a South Korean man.
Madly in love with the supposed man from South Korea, known simply as Oppa (played by popular South Korean influencer and actor Theo Jang), she ends up giving him money, both from her savings and money she borrows from the 'ah long' (money lender).
Not only does Tien discover that her beloved Korean boyfriend has suddenly disappeared into thin air but also finds herself in deep trouble as she is now being chased by the loan shark.
According to Choong, the title 'Oppa' was chosen not only because K-pop is popular in Malaysia, but it also reflects one of the modus operandi of scammers, who use photos of handsome young Korean men on dating apps to lure unsuspecting victims.
Apart from Jang and Goh, the cast includes Lee Zi Qi, Amanda Tan, Sadiq M.Jamil and Chen Kuoyang.
