JOHOR BARU: Two senior citizens have lost almost one million in savings after they were duped in investment scams that promised extraordinarily high returns in two separate cases that occurred in Johor late last year. Both cases had the same modus operandi – the individuals downloaded shady apps to deposit their money and monitor their earnings in the hopes of earning a windfall.
The first case was that of a 84-year-old businessman who lost about RM500,000 through an app called “DIGZAXXCE”, said Johor Baru North OCPD Asst Comm Balveer Singh.
“Dong Yuan promoted an investment scheme involving shares that allegedly offered returns as high as 100%.
“Drawn by the enticing promises, the victim downloaded the app to monitor his supposed earnings,” ACP Balveer said in a statement here on Jan 18.
Between Jan 6 and Jan 15, the victim made 12 cheque payments to two separate bank accounts provided by the suspect, amounting to a total of RM500,000.
The scam was uncovered when the victim’s accountant informed him that the investment was illegitimate.
In the second case, a 61-year-old accountant lost RM460,888 in a fraudulent Bitcoin scam that promised lucrative returns.
Seri Alam OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Sohaimi Ishak, said the woman lodged a report on Jan 17 claiming she was defrauded by a Bitcoin investment platform known as “PFOU”, which she joined in July through a Facebook ad.
After clicking a link, she was added to a Bitcoin investment group and received explanations from several individuals about the scheme.
“Towards the end of December, the victim decided to invest, as she was nearing retirement. She was instructed to download an app called ‘UVKXE’ to monitor her investments and the purported profits.
“She made three payments, totalling RM460,888, to two different bank accounts between Dec 30 and Jan 16,” he added.
“Through the ‘UVKXE’ app, she had made US$1,219,907.6624 in profits, equivalent to RM5.5mil,” he said.
However, when she wanted to withdraw the profits, she was instructed to pay RM550,152.35 as a management fee.
ACP Sohaimi said the victim, suspecting she had been deceived, did not pay the fee and subsequently lodged the police report.
Police have reminded the public to check on the veracity of investment offers and bank accounts through online services such as Semak Mule or the CCID Scam Response Centre via hotlines at 03-26101559 or 03-26101599, the CCID Infoline, official Facebook pages JSJK PDRM and BSJK PDRM, and the National Scam Response Centre via its hotline at 997.
