JEMPOL: A 50-year-old housewife lost almost RM27,000 after she was duped into investing in a non-existent online scheme promising unusually high returns.
Jempol police chief Supt Hoo Chang Hook said the woman lodged a police report on Tuesday (Aug 20) after realising that she had been cheated.
“The victim’s troubles started on Aug 4 when she came across an advertisement for an online investment scheme on Facebook.
“Keen on investing, she was told that to be eligible, she had to buy shares worth RM300 for returns of RM11,000,” he said in a statement on Wednesday (Aug 21).
Supt Hoo said the victim then made an initial payment of RM300 into an account number followed by more payments in the following days, including a RM5,303 management fee purportedly for Bursa Malaysia.
“On Aug 10, the victim was told that her returns had been banked into her account, but she could only withdraw the money if she banked 16% or about RM12,600 in sales and services tax.
“The victim agreed and credited the cash into a bank account given,” he said.
Supt Hoo said the representative contacted the victim again and told her that she had another pending payment totalling RM3,000 and that she had to bank the amount into an account belonging to an individual to which she complied.
“But after having banked a total of RM26,753.48 into different bank accounts, the victim never received any returns.
“She only realised that it was a scam when the so-called company representatives kept asking for more money for various reasons,” he said.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating, which carries a jail term of between one and 10 years, whipping and a fine upon conviction.
Supt Hoo advised the public to be extra careful and only invest in schemes through the proper channels.
“If you wish to invest, you need to be able to meet the other party at least physically and do it the proper way.
“You should refrain from participating in online schemes where you are told to bank in payments into different individual accounts,” he said, adding that the public can also call the police’s CCID Scam Response Centre at 03-2610 1559 or 03-2610 1599 for additional information.
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