IPOH: A 57-year-old retired factory worker in Taiping has lost over RM117,000 after investing in a non-existent investment scheme via a Telegram chat.
Taiping OCPD Asst Comm Mohamad Nasir Ismail said the victim lodged a police report on Sunday (Aug 4) at about 12.01pm, saying she was deceived and cheated after putting her funds in a scheme dubbed “Pelaburan ASNB Investment Malaysia”.
“The victim on July 16 at about 12.20pm who was going through her Telegram chat saw an advertisement for the scheme.
“After replying to the number, a suspect explained about the investment that offered profits up to RM75,000 on just RM1,500 in capital.
“The victim was promised profits within three and six hours, with the capital and profit to be deposited into her account,” he said in a statement today. (Aug 5)
ACP Mohamad Nasir added after the victim heard about the explanation, she became interested in investing and visited a link provided by the suspect.
He said between July 16 and July 22, the victim transferred money nine times into nine different bank accounts amounting to RM117,375.00.
“After making the payments, the victim did not get her capital and profits that were promised.
“She was also unable to withdraw the capital amount from the platform, as it was blocked by the suspect.
“The victim then suspected that she had been cheated, which resulted in her lodging a police report,” he added.
He said the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the penal code.
He advised people to be wary of such offers on social media promising big returns which were too good to be true.
“People can call the National Scam Response Centre hotline at 997 before conducting any transactions,” he added.
