ALOR SETAR, Dec 8 — A retired teacher has suffered more than RM109,000 in losses after being duped by two women who allegedly offered him guidance through the WhatsApp application to carry out foreign exchange investments.
Kedah Police Contingent Headquarters Commercial CID chief Superintendent Elias Omar said the victim, a 62-year-old man, initially dealt with a woman who claimed to be the manager of a private company earlier last month.
“The victim had seen an investment advertisement on Facebook that allegedly offers lucrative returns related to foreign exchange which also provides free guidance through social media.
“The suspect who gained the victim’s trust had instructed the victim to submit his personal documents, such as a picture of his identity card, driving licence and bank account statement as a condition of registration in the investment scheme,” he said in a statement here today.
He said the victim was then provided with a link and instructed to make a registration fee of USD$100 equivalent to RM424.51 and after that was told by the suspect that his registration had been approved.
Elias said the victim then liaised with another female suspect who allegedly acted as his guide to help manage his investment through another application where the victim had made five more transactions amounting to RM108,726.09.
Last Friday, the victim found he had not only failed to get a lucrative return from his investment but also did not get any telephone calls from the woman as she had promised.
“The victim ordered his daughter to investigate the company and she found it to be a cheating syndicate. The victim then lodged a report at a police station in Kubang Pasu yesterday,” he said, adding that an investigation paper had been opened under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
Elias advised the public not to be easily deceived by any online investment scheme advertised on social media that promises lucrative returns.
“The police would like to remind the public to check and get more information first from the ‘Semak Mule’ application to protect them from being cheated,” he said.
— Bernama
