KUANTAN: A businessman lost over RM277,000 after falling victim to an online investment scam, said Pahang police chief Datuk Seri Yahaya Othman.
The 52-year-old victim was initially contacted by a woman via WhatsApp, who proposed a short-term investment opportunity promising high returns.
The man initially invested RM1,000 and RM70,000, receiving small returns of RM175 and RM12,300, respectively, as supposed profits.
“Those returns were reinvested, and the victim was later persuaded to commit larger sums,” he said in a statement reported by Bernama yesterday.
The victim used his personal savings and business income, including money borrowed from his wife and acquaintances, to make multiple transfers into three different bank accounts between Jan 8 and 12.
Yahaya said that the man did not receive any additional returns and eventually realised he had been deceived after receiving a series of repeated excuses regarding his profits.
