JOHOR BARU: A 19-year-old college student from Kuala Lumpur has lost almost RM15,000 after falling prey to a part-time job scam she found on social media.
The student, who wanted to be known as Wendy, said she came across an advertisement on Facebook about a job where she could get commissions by simply leaving “good reviews” for an airline company.
“A woman who claimed to be an employee from the company reached out to me and explained about the so-called part-time job.
“She said I was only required to leave some good reviews for the company as a way to drive online traffic for it. After completing my first task, I received RM23 from the company.
“The woman said in order for me to carry out the next task, I would need to transfer RM100 to a bank account and would later get back RM131, which included the commission.
“I got my money back plus the commission as promised. This made me believe it was a legitimate part-time job that could help me make some pocket money,” Wendy told an online press conference organised by MCA National Public Complaints and Service Bureau deputy chief Chua Jian Boon.
Wendy said the amount she had to pay got higher with each task, prompting her to borrow money from a friend to continue doing the “part-time job.”
“I continued to pay more money in hopes of getting back the amount I had invested. However, the amount kept getting higher and I could no longer afford to give any more money.
“After giving thousands of ringgit, I was told I needed to bank in another RM5,000 to get my money back along with the commissions that were promised. That was when I decided to call 997 (the National Scam Response Centre).”
She said she lost almost RM15,000 from the scam, of which RM12,000 was money she borrowed from a friend.
“I also checked the ‘Semak Mule’ app but found no match for the bank account into which I transferred the money nor the phone number of the woman who had contacted me.
“On top of that, the woman also gave me an online certificate of the company that was allegedly issued by the Companies Commission of Malaysia,” she said, adding that she has since lodged a report in Kuala Lumpur.
Meanwhile, Chua said he has received two similar cases with losses amounting to more than RM30,000.
He advised that those who had undergone similar ordeals could reach out to the bureau at 07-3630008.
