KUALA TERENGGANU: A construction site supervisor has fallen victim to an investment scam, losing RM118,800 after being lured into a non-existent scheme through the ATS Pro application.
Kuala Terengganu district police chief ACP Azli Mohd Noor said that the 39-year-old victim discovered the application when an unknown individual added it to a WhatsApp group on April 21.
Intrigued by the discussions and profits shared by other group members, the victim was subsequently contacted by an individual named ‘Vincent’, who encouraged him to invest based on recommendations from a mentor named ‘Joel Kim’.
“The investment agreement was executed online with Dimensional Fund Advisory (Hong Kong) Investment Company, the sponsor of the application, which ultimately convinced the complainant of the promised returns,” he said in a statement today.
“The victim was attracted to the investment after being promised profits of five to nine per cent within three to five days for an initial capital of RM5,000. The returns were to be disbursed in either Malaysian Ringgit or Chinese Yuan.
Azli said that the victim, from Manir, participated in virtual tutorials conducted five days a week by ‘Joel Kim’ for several months. During this period, he made 12 transactions totalling RM118,800, transferring the money to two different bank accounts.
However, when the victim attempted to withdraw a profit of RM2,000, he encountered difficulties.
Upon reaching out to ‘Vincent’ and the customer service of the ATS Pro application, he was informed that he needed to pay RM424,298.08 to access his promised investment profit of RM1,151,590.40.
“Suspecting fraud, the complainant, who had utilised his Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad savings for the investment, decided to file a police report yesterday morning. The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code,” he said.
