JOHOR BARU: A real estate agent here has lost over RM130,000 after falling prey to a cryptocurrency investment scam.
Seri Alam OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Sohaimi Ishak said the 45-year-old man was lured into investing after receiving a message from an unknown person on Oct 3.
"(The) unknown person offered (a cryptocurrency) investment on the TwyAe platform, promising high returns in a short period.
“The victim was intrigued by the offer and clicked on the link provided by the scammer,” he said in a statement on Friday (March 7).
He said the victim decided to invest in the scheme, making a total of five transactions to three bank accounts between November and January.
“After investing RM130,000, the victim was told to make additional payments to receive his returns.
“That was when the victim realised he had been duped,” he said, adding that a police report was lodged on Thursday (March 6).
He said checks on the Commercial Crime Investigation Department’s Semak Mule platform found that police reports had been lodged against two of the three bank accounts involved in this case.
“We would like to remind the public to always verify the authenticity of individuals or companies offering investments through the Securities Commission Malaysia and to avoid sharing personal or banking information with unknown parties.
“Do not be deceived by promises of large profits within a short period, and use the Semak Mule portal to check suspicious accounts before making transactions.
“If you have fallen victim to fraud, contact the National Scam Response Centre at 997 immediately for prompt action to block the outflow of funds from the suspect’s account,” he said, adding that the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
