JOHOR BARU: A 50-year-old contractor has lost RM688,000 to a fake investment scheme he discovered on social media.
Seri Alam OCPD Supt Mohd Sohaimi Ishak said the incident began when the victim saw a stock investment advertisement called “DFA” on Facebook on July 26.
“The victim then joined a WhatsApp group and was taught how to make the investment through video calls with the suspects.
“He was promised a profit return of 410% across five phases of investment, which would last for three months. For each phase, he was promised returns of 50% to 150%,” Supt Mohd Sohaimi said in a statement here on Monday (Sept 30).
He added that the victim received an agreement letter via WhatsApp and was instructed to download an investment app called “ATS-P” for further details.
Supt Mohd Sohaimi said the victim made 17 financial transactions to three different bank accounts from July 31 to September 8, totalling RM688,000.
He said the victim was already in the fourth phase of the investment and had received returns of RM64,000 in August.
However, in early September, when the victim tried to withdraw money from the app, he could not, said Supt Mohd Sohaimi.
“He was asked to make an additional payment to continue investing. The victim refused, as he was requested to submit a larger sum of money.
“Following this, his account was blocked and became inaccessible,” Supt Mohd Sohaimi explained.
He said the victim then visited the company’s headquarters, only to be informed that no such investment existed. It was at this point that he realised he had been deceived.
Supt Mohd Sohaimi said the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
“We would like to remind the public to exercise caution when encountering investment offers that seem too good to be true,” Supt Sohaimi advised.
