IPOH: A 58-year-old company director has lost over RM300,000 to scammers in an investment scheme he found on social media.
Perak police chief Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said the man from Taman Pinji Seni here had been coerced into investing using a "OSL" account.
He said a police report by the victim was lodged on Monday (Sept 18).
Comm Mohd Yusri said investigations revealed that the victim was at home on July 27, when he befriended a woman on Facebook.
"The suspect deceived the victim into investing. From Aug 12-23, the victim made eight transactions into seven different bank accounts amounting to RM348,673.00," he said in a statement on Monday.
Comm Mohd Yusri said a few later, the victim checked his "OSL" account which appeared to show he made a profit of RM1,060,085.41.
"However, when he tried to withdraw the money, he was asked for a 30% payment from his profits.
"Only then did he realise that he had been cheated and he then lodged a report," he added.
Comm Mohd Yusri advised the people to always be wary of such offers on media social promising big returns, especially with unauthorised applications not approved by Bank Negara or the Securities Commission.
Comm Mohd Yusri said people can call the National Scam Response Centre hotline at 997 if they have been scammed or if they have conducted transactions to unknown accounts.
He said the people can also call 013-211 1222 (WhatsApp only) from 8am to 8pm.
For more information on the current fraud trends, the public can visit www.facebook.com/jsjkpdrm or www.facebook.com/cybercrimealertrmp.
The public can also check bank accounts and mobile numbers linked to fraud cases via https://semakmule.rmp.gov.my.
