IPOH: A 34-year-old woman lost RM129,975.54 after falling victim to an online part-time job scam.
Kampar OCPD Supt Mohamad Nazri Daud said police received a report from the local woman on Monday (Oct 19).
Preliminary investigations found that the victim came across an advertisement on social media offering part-time work related to hotel bookings while she was at home.
“She left her telephone number and was subsequently contacted by an unknown individual, who provided her with a link and added her to a WhatsApp group purportedly handling online hotel reservations.
“The victim was instructed to make payments for hotel bookings to several bank accounts, with promises that her capital would be refunded together with commissions of between 10% and 20%,” he said in a statement on Tuesday (Oct 20).
According to Supt Mohamad Nazri, the victim was also told that the commission rate would increase according to the amount transacted.
Lured by the promised returns, the victim made several money transfers to eight bank accounts, resulting in losses totalling RM129,975.54.
“She realised she had been scammed when neither her capital nor the promised commissions were returned after the payments were made,” he added.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
Supt Mohamad Nazri advised the public to be wary of online part-time job offers promising lucrative commissions, especially those requiring upfront payments using their own money.
He also urged the public not to trust job offers advertised on social media without verification and to check suspicious bank account or telephone numbers through the police’s Semak Mule portal before making any financial transactions.
Those who fall victim to financial scams should immediately contact the National Scam Response Centre at 997.
