JOHOR BAHRU: A 56-year-old retiree lost RM619,390 after falling victim to a non-existent online investment scheme.
Johor police chief CP M. Kumar said the woman lodged a police report yesterday claiming she was offered the opportunity to join the investment by a foreign man after receiving an e-mail from him in February, with the man also alleging that he was from a cybersecurity company.
“The victim was offered to invest in cryptocurrency, which promised returns of 35 to 50 per cent every month based on the amount of money invested.
“The man also claimed that he could help her get back the money she invested in Forex in 2020 if she made several payment transactions,” he said in a statement today.
He said the victim fell for it and made 28 cash transactions to seven different bank accounts between Feb 19 and May 7 before she became suspicious and lodged a report, adding that the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
Kumar also said that 255 other similar investment cases had been recorded from early January until yesterday, with a total loss of RM21.24 million.
As such, he advised the public to remain vigilant, especially when it involves cash transactions and to follow the Commercial Crime Investigation Department’s Facebook page and TikTok account for information on the modus operandi on commercial crimes, such as investment fraud.