JOHOR BARU: A 28-year-old kindergarten teacher became the victim of an online part-time job scam, suffering losses amounting to RM30,759.
Johor Baru South OCPD Asst Comm Raub Selamat said the incident began on Jan 15 when the woman was enticed by a part-time job advertisement on Facebook offering high commissions for simple tasks.
“The victim clicked on the provided link, which led to a phone number. Subsequently, the victim was given another link to access a Lazada account and was instructed to screenshot the page.
“The victim was then provided with bank account details and told that any payment made would be refunded along with promised commissions,” he said in a statement here on Saturday (Jan 18).
He added that between Jan 15 and Jan 16, the victim made 11 transactions totalling RM32,039 to three different local bank accounts.
“Despite receiving only RM1,280 in commissions, the victim was repeatedly asked to make additional payments. Realising she had been scammed, the victim reported the case at the Setia Indah police station on Jan 17,” he said.
Initial checks using the “Semak Mule CCID” platform revealed that one of the bank accounts involved in the transactions had a previous record of fraud.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
ACP Raub advised the public to exercise caution when dealing with contacts on social media and to avoid trusting offers that seem too good to be true.
“It is recommended to verify phone numbers and bank account details using applications like Truecaller and Semak Mule,” he said.
Scams should be reported to the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) by calling 997 to block money transfers.
The public is also encouraged to follow the official social media accounts of the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for updates on scammers’ modus operandi.
