CCID: Beware of investment plans on social media

KUALA LUMPUR: The public should not be easily duped by investment schemes advertised on social media as most of them are scams, says Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf.

The Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director said, be it on Facebook or Telegram, the schemes advertised are scams to dupe victims.

“Don’t believe the investment schemes being advertised on social media.

“If it’s too good to be true, it is most likely a scam,” he told reporters after attending the graduation ceremony for police sergeant trainees at the Police Training Centre here yesterday.

Comm Ramli was commenting on reports that two national badminton players were duped in scams.

It was reported that Malaysian mixed doubles shuttler Lai Pei Jing suffered a huge blow when she lost almost all her life savings through a scam.

Former doubles ace Tan Boon Heong also revealed that he was a victim of a scam in 2017.

Comm Ramli said the police are investigating both cases.

He advised the public to be wary of investment scams, which are a form of get-rich-quick schemes.

“There is no short cut to getting rich. Only invest in legitimate schemes that are approved by authorities,” he said.

Investment scam syndicates would resort to various tactics, including portraying abundance of wealth in order to entice victims, Comm Ramli said.

“We hope people can stay vigilant and be wary of such tactics,” he added.

Lai had previously shared about her experience of being scammed in a heartfelt social media post.

“First of all, to my relatives and friends who see this post, whether you are curious or concerned, please give my family some private space to deal with our emotions.

“Please give us time to process everything, especially my mum. Thank you. Yes, I was scammed out of almost all my life savings by a fraud group. Honestly, this has been an extremely heavy blow to me.

“My hard-earned savings from decades of hard work. I reflect on it almost every second whenever my mind is idle,” she added.

Tan had also shared that in 2017, he lost millions to an investment scam in two separate cases.

“Seeing my fellow shuttler getting scammed reminds me of when I was scammed too,” he said.