KUANTAN: A civil servant lost more than RM160,000 to a syndicate offering a fraudulent investment scheme that was introduced to him by a woman he befriended on Facebook.
Maran OCPD Supt Wong Kim Wai said that after a month of getting to know each other, the suspect offered the victim an investment opportunity and claimed she could help him withdraw the profits.
"Initially, the victim received a return of RM2,000 before the suspect continued to request additional payments, including RM57,000 and RM10,000, citing various reasons without giving any further returns,” he said in a statement on Friday (March 20).
He added that the victim, who used personal savings as well as loans from family members and a bank, made eight transactions to five different company accounts between Feb 12 and March 4.
"Throughout the period, the victim never met the suspect in person and only communicated via WhatsApp and video calls.
"The identity card number provided by the suspect is also believed to be fake,” he said.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating, and efforts to track down the suspect and gather evidence are ongoing, he added. – Bernama
