KUANTAN: A medical officer seeking extra income suffered a loss of RM888,000 after being lured by an initial RM1,000 profit from a share investment scam over just two months.
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The 44-year-old victim from Kuantan not only depleted his personal savings and sold his unit trust funds, but also took out a personal bank loan to participate in the scheme, which promised returns of up to 500 per cent.
Pahang police chief Datuk Seri Yahaya Othman said the victim’s ordeal began on Sept 18 last year when he spotted a share investment advertisement on Facebook.
“The victim communicated with the suspect through WhatsApp and was later included in a WhatsApp group.
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“He was offered share investments with promised profits ranging from 18 to 22 per cent.
“The victim was enticed with promises that he could earn up to 500 per cent in returns if he achieved investment targets involving 24 types of shares offered.
“The victim then downloaded an application provided by the suspect to register as a member,” he said in a statement today.
Yahaya said the victim made 21 transactions totalling RM888,000 into five bank accounts allegedly registered under several companies between Nov 8 last year and Jan 7 this year.
“The victim only received RM1,000 in profit at the initial stage and failed to receive any further returns as promised. He lodged a police report yesterday after realising the scheme was a scam,” he said.
Yahaya advised the public to verify bank accounts and phone numbers via https://semakmule.rmp.gov.my before carrying out any transactions.
He said victims should immediately contact the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) hotline at 997 upon realising they have been scammed, as there may still be a chance to recover the stolen funds.
Last week, Bukit Aman’s commercial crime investigation department said 9,296 people fell victim to bogus investment schemes between January and November last year, with losses amounting to RM1.37 billion.
-NST