SIBU: A female clerk in her 30s has reported to the police that she lost RM23,734 after falling victim to a loan scam.
In her report, made here yesterday, she claimed to have received a text message through the WhatsApp application on Feb 20 from an individual claiming to be a bank loan agent offering personal loans online, said Sibu District Police Chief ACP Zulkipli Suhaili.
The victim, attracted by the offer, agreed to take out a loan of RM20,000 with a monthly repayment of RM600 over five years, he said in a statement today.
She was directed to submit a copy of her personal identification document for registering the application, in addition to making a loan processing payment of RM23,734 through three money transfer transactions into two local bank accounts on Feb 21 and 22, he said.
“After all the transactions were made, the loan money was still not credited into the victim’s account. The victim became suspicious and realised she had been scammed and made a report at the Commercial Crime Investigation Division of the Sibu District Police Headquarters,“ he said
Zulkipli said an investigation paper has been opened under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
He advised the public not to be easily deceived by promotional loan advertisements with low-interest rates, quick loan application processes without strict conditions, or without requiring any guarantor on social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp and Wechat.
Those in need of any advice or further information can refer to the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) at hotline 997 and follow the Facebook page @CyberCrimeAlertRMP @JSJKPDRM.
The public can also make verification checks on bank accounts and telephone numbers in doubt through the website http://ccid.rmp.gov.my/semakmule. -Bernama
