JOHOR BAHRU: A 58-year-old trader lost RM720,800 after falling victim to an online investment scam linked to a Facebook advertisement.
Seri Alam deputy police chief Supt Victor Genason said the syndicate promised a 50 per cent return within three months, prompting the victim to make 15 transactions totaling RM730,500 to four different bank accounts between March 25 and May 9.
The victim was later instructed to make additional payments to access his returns, but only received RM9,700 before realising he had been duped when further attempts to recover the money failed.
He said investigations revealed that three of the four accounts used in the scam had been flagged in 20 previous police reports involving similar investment fraud.
Victor said the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code, and urged the public to be wary of online schemes offering high returns and to verify investment offers with legitimate authorities.
