Costly click: Facebook investment scam drains Johor retiree of RM535,000 in three months
JOHOR BARU, June 21 — A private sector retiree lost RM535,766 after allegedly falling victim to an online investment scam promoted via an advertisement on the Facebook application.
Seri Alam District Police chief ACP Mohd Sohaimi Ishak said the police received a report from a 57-year-old local man on Tuesday, who claimed losses exceeding RM500,000.
He said the victim had come across a share investment advertisement on Facebook on March 13 that promised lucrative returns within a short time, and clicked on the provided link out of interest.
'Subsequently, the victim made 26 payment transactions into five different bank accounts between March 13 and June 5, totalling RM535,766. The victim was also asked to make additional payments to withdraw the so-called 'investment profits', but those requests were never fulfilled,' he said in a statement today.
Mohd Sohaimi said the victim only realised he had been duped after repeated attempts to recover the investment funds proved futile.
'Preliminary checks via the CCID's 'Semak Mule' platform found that all five accounts involved had a total of 22 police reports linked to investment scams,' he said.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating, and police are also looking into the possible involvement of mule account holders. — Bernama
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