A retired engineer in Kedah lost over RM100,000 to fraudsters posing as recovery agents after falling for a fake online advertisement.
ALOR SETAR: A retired engineer lost RM108,001 after being deceived by fraudsters posing as scam recovery agents.
The 54-year-old victim lodged a police report at the Kuala Muda district police headquarters last Sunday.
Kedah Commercial Crime Investigation Department acting head DSP Jasmani Sabrini said the victim saw a Facebook advertisement on May 16, 2025, offering help for scam victims.
The advertisement stated, “If you are a victim of a scam, please contact us.”
The victim clicked the link, provided his details, and was later contacted via WhatsApp to fill in a form.
He was instructed to make an advance payment to open a file before his application could be processed.
Jasmani said the victim made eight online bank transfers between May 28 and June 18 last year.
The payments were sent to various accounts under different individual and company names.
At the time of the police report, the suspects were still demanding more payments to recover his money.
Investigations revealed the man had previously been a scam victim in three other cases.
Those earlier cases in Sungai Petani and Padang Serai involved non-existent loan schemes.
Jasmani advised the public to be vigilant against online ads offering money recovery services.
He urged people to verify with police before making any suspicious transactions.
The public can also use the Semak Mule application or check the CCID Facebook page for verification.
He recommended contacting the National Scam Response Centre at 997 for assistance.
