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TANJUNG MALIM – An elderly man lost more than RM15,000 after allegedly falling victim to a non-existent online investment scheme on Thursday.
Muallim district police chief Superintendent Khalid Mohamad said the 66-year-old victim was drawn to an investment advertisement he saw on Facebook before contacting the suspect via WhatsApp.
He said the suspect used the name of an investment company to convince the victim before instructing him to make several transactions to a given bank account.
"The victim made payments totalling RM15,140 before being informed that a return of RM123,120 had supposedly been credited to his account.
"However, the money was never received and the victim was then asked to make an additional payment of RM7,000 on the pretext of bank security protection," he said in a statement on Friday.
He said the victim did not proceed with the payment before coming forward to lodge a police report.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
He added that the public is advised to be more vigilant and not to easily trust investment offers promoted on social media or in person.
"Checks should be made with the relevant agencies before joining any investment scheme.
"The public can also check account numbers through the Semak Mule portal or contact the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) at 997 if they fall victim to fraud," he said.
