JOHOR BARU: An e-hailing driver lost over RM300,000 after being duped into a non-existent investment scheme introduced by a woman he had just met.
Seri Alam OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Sohaimi Ishak said the woman introduced the 67-year-old victim to the alleged international share investment scheme in April of this year.
"The friend promised him lucrative returns within a short period of time. Believing the offer, the victim made 11 transactions totalling RM301,300 to four different bank accounts.
"The victim started to have doubts when he did not receive any profits and was asked to make further payments to supposedly withdraw his returns," he said in a statement on Saturday (July 19).
Realising he had been cheated, the victim lodged a police report at the Seri Alam district police headquarters on July 14 after failing to retrieve his money or contact the woman.
ACP Mohd Sohaimi said initial checks through the Commercial Crimes Investigation Department (CCID)'s Semak Mule platform found that three of the accounts used in the scam had a total of 27 previous police reports lodged against them, all linked to investment fraud.
He added that the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating, which carries a jail term of one to 10 years, whipping, and a fine upon conviction.
The investigation will also cover mule account involvement under Section 424 of the Penal Code, he said, adding that those convicted could face a fine between RM10,000 and RM150,000, or a jail term of three to 10 years.
ACP Mohd Sohaimi advised the public to be wary of online scams and not to fall for investment schemes that promise fast and high returns with little effort.
He urged the public to verify such schemes with authorities including the police, Bank Negara Malaysia, and the Securities Commission.
He also reminded the public to use online services provided such as the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC), CCID Infoline, Semak Mule, and the JSJK PDRM Facebook page for information on commercial crime before making any payment to others.
The NSRC – which is now under the Bukit Aman CCID - is reachable via its hotline 997.
