SIBU: A housewife in Sarikei has been cheated out of about RM540,000 in a non-existent online investment that promised high returns of up to 100%.
Sarawak Commissioner of Police Datuk Mohd Azman Ahmad Sapri said the 60-year-old was attracted by an advertisement dated Oct 3 on her Facebook page.
She then contacted an individual by the name of “Koon Yew Yin” through WhatsApp.
“The victim’s interest in learning about the investment led her to click on a link provided by the suspect.
“The woman was briefed on the investment scheme and the suspect offered to act as her agent in purchasing shares in two companies,” said Mohd Azman yesterday.
The woman made 11 transactions amounting to about RM540,000 in stages, which were deposited in three different accounts between early and mid-October this year.
She only realised she had been cheated when the suspect requested additional payments, even though she had not received any returns on her investment.
Mohd Azman advised the public to make investments only on valid platforms registered with Bank Negara Malaysia and the Securities Commission Malaysia.
Separately, a retired teacher in Kuantan lost her entire savings totalling RM199,500 after she fell victim to a Macau scam syndicate.
Pahang police chief Datuk Seri Yahaya Othman said that on Sept 1, the 61-year-old woman received a phone call from an unknown individual who introduced himself as a courier company worker and told her that a parcel under her name contained prohibited items.
“The call was immediately transferred to another individual who impersonated a police officer, who told the victim that the authorities would freeze her bank accounts (for investigation purposes),” he said in a statement yesterday.
Yahaya said the woman was instructed to transfer all her savings into an account allegedly belonging to Bank Negara’s investigation unit.
The woman claimed that she made eight money transfers amounting to RM199,500 into six different bank accounts.
She only realised she had been cheated after failing to contact the so-called police officer to inquire about the progress of the investigation into her account.
She lodged a report at the Temerloh district police headquarters on Thursday.
Yahaya reminded the public who receive calls from unknown individuals asking them to make online transactions to check with https://semakmule.rmp.gov.my/ — Bernama
