IPOH: A consultant in Perak and a retiree in Pahang have lost nearly RM2 million due to investment scams.
Perak police chief Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said the first victim, 37, discovered she had been duped recently after trying to withdraw some profits from her supposed investment.
โA police report was filed on Thursday. โThe Taman Perak victim claimed that she had been tricked into investing in a cryptocurrency scheme,โ he said in a statement yesterday.
Communicator Mohd Yusri said a Facebook friend introduced the consultant to the cryptocurrency scheme last September.
โHe made 44 transactions in various bank accounts, totaling RM1,651,585.
โWhen he tried to withdraw some of his winnings, he was told he had to pay taxes to the Saudi Arabian government.
โThat's when the consultant realized he had been scammed,โ he said.
Commander Mohd Yusri said people should be wary of investment offers on social media platforms, especially those that are not approved by Bank Negara or the Securities Commission.
He added that they can contact the National Scam Response Center number at 997 if they are victims of a non-existent investment scheme or have just made transactions to a mule account.
In KUANTAN, a 55-year-old retiree lost RM260,388 in a similar investment scam.
Pahang police chief Comm Datuk Seri Yahaya Othman said the victim was attracted to the scheme after being told it was sharia-compliant and offered high returns.
โHe started participating in the scheme early last month with an investment of RM500 that generated profits of RM110.
โThis prompted him to invest a larger amount. They then gave him a link to register on a website to monitor stock movements.
โHowever, when the victim tried to withdraw some profits, he was told to pay an investment tax,โ he said in a statement, Bernama reported.
Comm Yahaya said the victim made 14 online transactions across five accounts, but only realized he had been deceived when he was continually denied permission to withdraw the returns.
A police report was filed at the Kuala Lipis police station on Friday.
In yet another case, a 50-year-old nurse from Jerantut was defrauded of RM105,000 by a fraudster posing as an official from the National Scam Response Centre.
According to Comm Yahaya, the victim resorted to a personal loan and pawning her jewelery after being tricked into believing she was involved in money laundering activities.
