Two business owners in Johor Baru have been scammed out of more than RM1 million through financial schemes on social media, according to Johor police chief Comm Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat. He stated that the police received two separate reports from the victims, who lost a total of RM1.09 million.
The first victim, a 62-year-old businesswoman, was defrauded of RM512,529 after falling for an investment scam. In April of the previous year, the victim came across an investment scheme offering high returns on social media. After clicking the link, she was directed to the scammer through WhatsApp and was asked to download an application to monitor her investments. Subsequently, she was persuaded to make a high investment in order to receive higher returns. She deposited RM512,202 into several bank accounts, but only received RM924 in returns. When she attempted to recover her money, the suspect demanded more payments, revealing the fraud.
The second case involved a 57-year-old businessman who was victimized by a fictitious loan scheme, resulting in the loss of RM585,107. After seeing an advertisement on social media in December of the previous year regarding a loan scheme, the victim submitted his personal details and the requested loan amount. Subsequently, he was informed that his application was approved, but was asked to make payments for various fees such as lawyer fees, stamp duties, and Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) tax, culminating in a loss of RM585,107. He never received the promised money and was instead asked to provide more money.
Comm Kamarul Zaman stated that both cases are being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
