IPOH: Two men have lost a combined RM474,212.58 after falling prey to fraudulent investment schemes and phone scams, police confirmed. The victims, aged 61 and 56, filed reports on Sunday.
Ipoh police chief ACP Abang Zainal Abidin Abang Ahmad said the first victim, a site supervisor, was lured by a Facebook advertisement for “KKR Investment,“ which promised returns of 10 to 20 per cent within a short period.
“Enticed by the offer, the supervisor made 14 transactions to six different bank accounts between April and July, only to realise he had been scammed when he was asked to make additional payments supposedly for profit withdrawal,“ he said.
In the second case, a 56-year-old former factory worker lost RM166,897.58 after receiving a call from someone posing as a Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) officer in June.
Abang Zainal Abidin said the scammer claimed the victim’s phone number was linked to illegal moneylending activities and pressured him to file a police report.
“The victim was then connected to another individual pretending to be a Bukit Aman police officer, who instructed him to transfer money from his EPF account to a company account for ‘investigation purposes,‘” he explained.
The transfer was made on July 7 before the victim realised he had been deceived. Police urge the public to be wary of unrealistic investment offers and unsolicited calls from unknown parties. - BERNAMApix
