SIBU: What began as a hopeful swipe right on a popular dating app ended in financial heartbreak for a local woman, who fell victim to a sophisticated online scam that drained her of over RM100,000.
The sales and marketing executive, whose identity is being withheld for privacy reasons, had allegedly met a man claiming to be “Lucian Hee Hao Yu”, who introduced himself as an engineer, on the dating platform Bumble in early January.
Their virtual romance quickly escalated, transitioning from Bumble to WhatsApp, where trust deepened. Soon, Lucian introduced the woman to what he said was a “lucrative opportunity” – an exclusive investment scheme dubbed ‘Private Placement,’ promising swift and high returns.
Under Lucian’s direction, the victim was persuaded to register on a professional-looking website, privatemutuallg.com, and instructed to share her personal information.
“The victim subsequently made 12 transactions totalling RM102,992.40 into three local accounts between Feb 6 and March 6. More worryingly, the victim also took out a bank loan to finance the investment,” Sibu District Police Chief, ACP Zulkipli Suhaili said in a statement today.
But the promised returns never materialised. After a few weeks, the victim realised she had been duped and decided to lodge a police report yesterday.
An investigation has been launched under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
ACP Zulkipli urged the public to exercise extreme caution when approached with investment opportunities, especially from unfamiliar individuals online.
He also advised verifying any financial scheme with Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) or the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) through their official websites or the Investment Checker app.
Additionally, the public can check suspicious bank accounts or phone numbers via the Semak Mule portal at http://ccid.rmp.gov.my/semakmule, or contact the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) at 997 for assistance.
