JOHOR BARU: A 28-year-old pickleball coach’s bid to earn some extra income turned into a nightmare after she was duped into “investing” RM55,000 in a job scam, even borrowing money from loan sharks (ah long) to raise the funds.
The woman, who only wanted to be known as Tan, said she poured in the funds in hopes of withdrawing more than RM400,000 in promised commissions from the scheme.
“I wanted to earn some side income, so I got interested after coming across an advertisement on Instagram offering an opportunity to earn commissions in June.
“I clicked on a link and was directed to WhatsApp and Telegram chat groups where I was told I could earn commissions by following simple instructions,” she said in a press conference organised by Johor Parti Wawasan Negara public complaints and services bureau committee member Ang Tun Chek on Wednesday (Aug 26).
Tan said she was instructed to create an account on a website and click on product links to help increase their ratings.
She said the scheme appeared legitimate at first, as she received about RM2,000 in commissions through three transactions.
“This gave me the confidence to continue with the tasks. However, I was then told to invest my own money into my account to earn more commission,” she said.
She subsequently poured in RM32,000 from her savings and money borrowed from friends and family, but was repeatedly asked to put in more.
“As I struggled to raise the funds, several groups of ah long approached me with offers of loans. Out of desperation, I borrowed about RM23,000 from eight groups to fund the activities.
“Not only did I not receive the promised returns, my family and I are now the target of threats and harassment from the ah long, who are demanding about RM40,000 including interest,” said Tan.
Meanwhile, Ang urged members of the public to be wary of job scams offering easy commissions, particularly those requiring victims to put up their own money before they could receive higher returns.
“If you have fallen victim, seek help immediately instead of borrowing money from Ah Long, as this will only lead to more problems,” he said.
