JOHOR BARU: A beautician’s dream of starting her own business turned into a nightmare when she lost more than RM150,000 to a scammer.
Seri Alam OCPD Supt Mohd Sohaimi Ishak said the victim lodged a police report last week after being duped by a syndicate offering non-existing bank loans on social media.
“The incident started on Nov 11 when the 38-year-old victim came across a financial loan advertisement on Facebook, which used the name and logo of a local bank.
“The victim, who wanted to start her own business, contacted the loan representative through WhatsApp where she was given further information about the loan regulations,” he said here yesterday.
Supt Mohd Sohaimi added that the victim was promised an easier process with fast approval but with a rule that she must make several advance payments first.
He said the victim agreed to make a loan of RM300,000, where she followed the suspect’s instruction of making 18 payments between Nov 16 and Nov 20 to 14 different bank accounts.“The victim paid a total of RM156,468 from her savings, but she still did not receive the loan. The suspect received numerous justifications for making additional payments.
“She became suspicious and checked with the bank and found out that the loan did not exist. She then lodged a report with the police,” he added.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code, where the investigation will also cover the potential use of mule bank accounts.
Supt Mohd Sohaimi urged the public to always be careful and not believe simple financial loans advertised on social media.
