A technician in Penang lost over RM602,000 in an Ethereal Capital investment scam after being promised high returns and blocked from withdrawing his supposed profits.
GEORGE TOWN: A 57-year-old technician lost RM602,051.56 to an online investment scheme known as Ethereal Capital.
Penang police chief Datuk Azizee Ismail said the victim lodged a report yesterday after realising he had been deceived.
The victim encountered a stock investment advertisement on Facebook in early September promising high returns.
He was subsequently added to a WhatsApp group promoting the scheme.
“Between Sept 5 and Nov 11, the victim made 62 transactions into 36 different bank accounts,” Azizee said in a statement today.
The suspect promised returns of 20% to 30% within one to eight days based on invested capital.
The victim was instructed to download the Ethereal Capital application for registration and investment purposes.
His initial payment of RM300 into an individual’s bank account yielded a purported profit of RM32,200 on the same day.
Encouraged by this, the victim increased his investment by another RM200,000.
The suspect later informed him that his profit had allegedly reached RM700,000.
The victim realised he had been scammed when he attempted to withdraw his ‘profit’ but was demanded to pay taxes and processing fees first.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
