SIBU: A retired private-sector engineer from here lost RM224,403 in a month after falling victim to an online investment scam that falsely promised lucrative returns of up to RM750,000.
Sibu police chief ACP Zulkipli Suhaili said the victim, a man in his 60s, only realised he had been scammed when he was asked to pay an additional RM100,700 as ‘tax’ to withdraw the supposed investment profits, which did not exist.
He said the victim was initially drawn to the so-called investment offer, promoted as the ‘Investment Stock Market’ by a company named KKR Investment on Instagram on April 9. Later, he received further explanation via WhatsApp from someone claiming to be a company representative.
“If the victim agreed, he was required to download the KKR Investment app for registration purposes. He was also informed that all accumulated profits could be viewed through the app,“ he said in a statement.
Between April 9 and May 7, the victim made 11 money transfers totalling RM224,403 to four different local bank accounts. He then contacted the representative again when the investment app showed his profits had reached RM750,000.
Zulkipli said that when the victim was asked to make an additional payment of RM100,700 as a tax to withdraw the funds, he began to suspect he was being scammed and subsequently filed a police report in Sibu on Tuesday.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating. Zulkipli advised the public to exercise caution and not be easily tempted by offers of high returns through online investment schemes.
