KUANTAN: A Form Six student lost RM22,300 - including inheritance money from her late mother - after falling victim to a non-existent investment scheme on Telegram last month.
Pahang police chief Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said the 19-year-old victim claimed that on Dec 14, she paid RM1,000 as capital to obtain an identification number and password to the investment website, with the promise of receiving a return within three hours.
"The victim claimed that checks on the website revealed that she had gained a return of RM16,000 but had to make some payments before she could withdraw the money, causing her to use the inheritance,” he said in a statement on Monday (Jan 2).
Ramli said the victim finally realised that the investment scheme did not exist after she failed to get the promised money and lodged a report at the Bera District Police Headquarters on Sunday (Jan 1).
In a separate case, a pensioner claimed to have lost almost RM100,000, including his Employees Provident Fund (EPF) savings, after being duped by a Macau Scam syndicate on Dec 21.
The victim, who wished to be known as Ng, 58, claimed that he received a call from a man who introduced himself as a police officer from the Penang Police Contingent Headquarters who was investigating a drug trafficking case allegedly involving him.
"The call was then transferred to a woman who claimed to be a Bank Negara Malaysia officer who later sent me a link via WhatsApp to collect my details, including banking information, for checking purposes,” he told a press conference here, with Semambu assemblyman Chan Chun Kuan also present.
Ng said he only realised that he had lost some of his savings on Dec 29 and lodged a police report on the same day. - Bernama
