Duo lose over RM1mil to scams found on social media

JOHOR BARU: Two business owners have lost more than RM1mil in total to financial scams here.

Johor police chief Comm Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat said police received two separate reports from the victims on Jan 9 and Jan 10 involving losses of more than RM1.09mil.

“The first case was of a 62-year-old businesswoman who suffered losses of RM512,529 after falling prey to an investment scam.

“In April last year, the victim came across an investment scheme advertisement on social media offering high returns.

“She clicked on the link in the post and was led to the suspect through a WhatsApp link.

“She was told to download an application that was allegedly meant to monitor her investments,” he said in a statement yesterday.

He added that the victim was told to put in a large investment to get higher returns.

“She believed the suspect and made a payment of RM512,202 to several bank accounts.

“She realised she had been duped after receiving only RM924 in returns. She was told to make more payments in order to get her money back and the returns owed to her,” he said.

Comm Kamarul Zaman said the second case involved a 57-year-old businessman who fell for a non-existent loan scheme and lost more than half a million ringgit.

“The victim came across an advertisement on social media in December last year about a loan scheme and was enticed by it.

“He then contacted the suspect and submitted his personal details to the person as well as the amount he wanted to borrow.

“He was later told that his application had been accepted but he needed to make some payments for lawyer fees, stamp duties and taxes,” he said.

He added that the victim then made payments amounting to RM585,107 to several bank accounts.

“He realised he had been cheated as he never received the money that was promised and was instead told to give more money,” he said.

Comm Kamarul Zaman said both cases are being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.