DESPITE the police advising the public to avoid falling for online scams, there are still reports of Internet users being cheated by unscrupulous individuals.
Recently, there have been posts on social media warning that scammers are now offering so-called investments in precious stones and jewellery to dupe Internet users.
Is it true that a woman was cheated out of more than RM300,000 over the purchase of jade from China?
Verdict:
TRUE
On May 24, a woman lodged a report at the Segamat police station, saying that she had lost RM365,500 while trying to buy jade online.
Segamat OCPD Supt Ahmad Zamry Marinsah said the woman had received a message through Facebook, offering stones that originated in China.
"The complainant was promised RM4mil if the stones had jade in it and she made several payments to the suspect's account," said Supt Ahmad Zamry.
"When she did not receive any returns on her payments, she realised she was cheated and lodged a report," he said.
Supt Ahmad Zamry said the case was being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating, with carries a punishment of between one and 10 years in jail, whipping and a fine.
He also advised the public to use the services offered by the commercial investigation department, such as the National Scam Response Centre, CCID Infoline, Semak Mule and police Facebook pages on information related to commercial crime before making any transactions.
