JOHOR BARU: An account clerk lost more than RM525,000 of her savings after falling victim to a non-existent investment scheme.
Johor Baru South OCPD Asst Comm Raub Selamat said the 46-year-old woman first received a call on June 12 from a man named Chew Ming Lei, who offered her an investment in betting games.
"The victim was promised profits of up to 5% from her capital. Interested in earning extra income, she registered an account by clicking on a link provided by the suspect," he said in a statement on Saturday (Sept 13).
ACP Raub said the woman initially transferred RM10,000 online and received RM1,000 in returns after trying the scheme twice.
"Encouraged by this, she went on to make 18 transactions to nine bank accounts, amounting to RM527,681.17 between July 14 and Sept 4.
"After the payments were made, she was told to make additional transfers to withdraw her supposed profits. Realising she had been cheated, the victim lodged a police report," he said.
He added that initial checks through the CCIS system found that the phone number used by the suspect had no prior scam records but was believed to have been misused by fraudsters.
"Further investigations are underway, including obtaining details of the bank accounts, recording statements from bank representatives, conducting checks with telcos to identify the owners of the phone numbers and tracing the suspects involved.
"The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code, which carries a jail term of between one and 10 years, whipping, and a fine upon conviction," he said.
ACP Raub also urged the public to be cautious when offered investments via social media.
He also advised the public to verify accounts through the official Semak Mule portal before proceeding with any payments.
"Do not be easily swayed by promises of high returns in a short time. Contact the National Scam Response Centre at 997 immediately to report suspected scam activities.
"Legitimate investments will never ask for payments to personal accounts or guarantee extraordinary profits in such a short period," he stressed.
