KUALA TERENGGANU: A civil servant lost RM53,035.49 after being duped by an online purchase fraud syndicate, a fake consultant and a non-existent loan offer.
Kuala Terengganu OCPD Asst Comm Azli Mohd Noor said the 48-year-old victim saw a Facebook advertisement to sell a car last Wednesday (April 8).
The victim was enticed to purchase the car after contacting the suspect and agreed to make six payments to five different accounts totalling RM15,955.49.
"The victim, however, felt deceived by the car purchase transaction and searched on Facebook to get consultant services to resolve the problem that arose.
"He then made a payment of RM7,280 to a suspect who posed as a consultant officer on Facebook on April 11. At the same time, the victim tried to take out a loan online to solve the problem of buying the car," he said.
Azli said the victim, who was desperate to take out a loan, transferred RM29,800 to a fake money lending syndicate on Monday and Tuesday, supposedly as a management fee.
The victim then lodged a police report at about 4.29pm on Tuesday after realising he had been scammed.
"The victim's financial source was through savings and loans from his family. The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code," he said. - Bernama
