JOHOR BARU: A 46-year-old man lost close to RM400,000 of his personal savings after falling for an online investment scam, here.
Johor Baru South OCPD Asst Comm Raub Selamat said the victim, who works as a vehicle spare parts shop manager, had lodged a report on the incident on Monday (Jan 20).
He added that the scam targeted individuals easily influenced by promises of extraordinary returns through online platforms.
“The victim was initially contacted via WhatsApp by a suspect identifying as "Alice Kirana”.
“The suspect employed a ‘wrong message sent’ tactic to start a conversation and later offered an investment opportunity through an app called ‘GRS’.
“The scheme promised a 20% profit in a short period with an initial capital of as little as RM515,” he said in a statement.
ACP Raub added that deceived by the enticing promises, the victim made 15 transactions over a seven-day period, transferring a total of RM397,815 to three different bank accounts.
“The suspect sent fake screenshots purportedly showing the victim's investment profits totalling RM623,430.
“However, when the victim attempted to withdraw the funds, the suspect demanded an additional RM218,000 for the withdrawal process,” he said, adding that that is when the victim had realised he had been scammed and filed a police report.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect used three bank accounts; one under the name Maze Fishing and Accessories Sdn Bhd, which had three prior fraud records; one under the name Deliviva Work Sdn Bhd, also with three prior fraud records; and another under the name Deliviva Work Sdn Bhd, with no prior fraud records.
The suspect also used two phone numbers; 011-28093942, which had no fraud record, and 014-2011262, which had one fraud record.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
ACP Raud advised the public to exercise caution with investment offers promising extraordinary returns.
"Verify the legitimacy of such offers through the CCID Semak Mule Portal or consult the authorities.
"Avoid disclosing personal or banking information to unknown individuals. Suspicious activities can be reported to the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) Scam Response Centre at 03-26101559 or 03-26101599 or the nearest police station."
