Victim duped by WhatsApp investment group promising 350% returns; police investigating under Section 420.
GEORGE TOWN: A teacher lost RM604,000 after she was duped by an online investment syndicate using a gambling machine concept near here recently.
Penang police chief Datuk Azizee Ismail said the 57-year-old woman claimed that in August, a man who introduced himself as an investment agent added her to a WhatsApp group called “pelaburan sentosa.”
“The victim was informed that the investment promised profits of up to 350 per cent within one month from the capital invested,” he said in a statement today.
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Azizee said the woman, who became interested in the offer, was instructed to access a website via a provided link, register as a member and make her investments.
Believing the scheme, she subsequently made 20 fund transfers totalling RM604,000 into five different company accounts between Oct 2 and Oct 31.
He said the victim only realised she had been cheated when she failed to withdraw the purported profit of RM1.8 million displayed in the application.
“She lodged a report at the Barat Daya District Police Headquarters yesterday. The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code,” he added. – Bernama
