GEORGE TOWN, June 22: Two men, including a senior citizen, collectively lost RM2.35 million after they fell victim to online investment fraud syndicates, in separate incidents in Penang recently.
Penang police chief Datuk Hamzah Ahmad said in the first case, the Commercial Crime Investigation Division (BSJK) of Seberang Perai Tengah district police headquarters received a complaint from a 57-year-old insurance agent in Perai, yesterday, after suffering losses of almost RM1.5 million.
According to the victim, he had seen a stock investment advertisement promising high returns on Facebook in December and then contacted the female suspect via the WhatsApp application.
The investment offered various packages with promises of lucrative returns, and the victim was interested in participating before downloading the stock investment application. On Dec 30, he made the first transfer of RM9,999 and earned a profit of RM18,400,” he said in a statement today.
The victim’s confidence grew after that and subsequently made 35 money transfers between February 17 and April 24 into seven bank accounts belonging to different companies involving a total of RM1,495,176.
Hamzah said the man only realised he had been a victim of fraud after failing to withdraw profits on the investment application and was even asked to make an additional payment.
In the second case, a 73-year-old retired accountant at a factory filed a police report at north-east police headquarters yesterday after he had also fallen victim to an online investment scam involving a loss of RM855,001.
According to the victim, he saw an investment advertisement for cryptocurrency investments that offered high profits in a short period on Facebook in March and he then clicked on the advertisement link before contacting the female suspect via the WhatsApp application.
Hamzah said the victim joined and downloaded the investment application before making 14 transactions to five bank accounts belonging to different companies from April 15 to June 11, but did not receive any profits.
Further investigations were being carried out to trace the fraud syndicate network. Both cases were being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
— BERNAMA