IPOH: Two men here have lost a total of over RM474,000 in separate fraud cases – a bogus investment scheme and a telephone scam.
Ipoh OCPD Asst Comm Abang Zainal Abidin Abang Ahmad said they received two reports on Sunday (July 20) from the victims.
In the first case, a 61-year-old site supervisor said he came across an advertisement on Facebook for an investment platform called “KKR Investment” on April 1.
“Enticed by the promise of 10% to 20% returns in a short time, the victim contacted the so-called agent and ended up making 14 transactions to six different bank accounts, totalling RM307,315,” ACP Abang Zainal said in a statement on Tuesday (July 22)
The man only realised he had been duped when he was asked to make additional payments, supposedly for taxes, before he could withdraw his “profits”.
In the second case, a 56-year-old retired factory worker said he received a call in June from someone claiming to be from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
“The caller told the victim that his phone number had been linked to an illegal loan shark case and advised him to lodge a police report.
“The call was then transferred to an individual claiming to be a police officer from Bukit Aman,” he said.
ACP Abang Zainal said the victim was instructed to transfer his Employees Provident Fund (EPF) savings to another account for investigation purposes.
“On July 7, he transferred RM166,897.58 to a bank account registered under a company,” he said.
He reminded the public to always be wary of investment offers that promise high returns in a short time and to conduct thorough checks before committing to any scheme.
“Avoid investing through social media.
"Also, never trust unexpected phone calls from strangers claiming to be officials,” he advised.
