Lecturer Duped Of RM914,758 In Fake Online Investment

JASIN, Nov 26 (Bernama) -- A lecturer suffered losses totalling RM914,758 after being duped by a fake investment scheme advertised on social media.

Jasin police chief Supt Lee Robert said the 40-year-old married woman had become interested in an offer to learn stock trading via an application and clicked on the advertisement link on July 28.

“After that, she got in touch with the suspect through WhatsApp and was lured into joining an investment scheme, which allegedly could generate profits within two to five minutes.

“The victim was instructed to download the application using a link provided by the suspect for registration,” he said in a statement today.

Lee said that from Sept 1 to Oct 18, the victim made 20 transactions into nine different bank accounts as directed by the suspect, using her savings, bank loans and money borrowed from family members.

He said the victim was later told to pay an additional RM20,000 as a quarterly fee before she could withdraw the supposed profits, but she then realised she had been scammed and lodged a report at the Jasin Police Station on Nov 23.

Lee said police are now scrutinising all the bank accounts involved, and the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

He urged the public to remain vigilant and conduct proper checks before joining any investment scheme, especially those that promise unrealistic returns.

“The use of personal bank accounts to receive investment funds is one of the early warning signs that the scheme is suspicious.

“The public is also advised to verify dubious phone numbers, bank accounts or company names via the semakmule.rmp.gov.my portal before making any transactions,” he said.

Lee also urged victims to call the National Scam Response Centre at 997 within 24 hours to improve the chances of blocking any fund transfers.

-- BERNAMA