S'pore engineer loses more than $500k to investment scam
JOHOR BAHRU – A 64-year-old Singaporean engineer has reportedly lost RM1.9 million (S$580,000) to an online investment scam.
Johor police chief M. Kumar revealed that the police were alerted to this case after receiving a report from the victim on Oct 17.
The victim saw an investment advertisement on Facebook while in Singapore in December 2023 and clicked on the link for more information.
He was then added to a WhatsApp group related to investments, where he received a briefing on the investment process.
He was told he needed only to provide the initial capital, while the company would manage the investment, promising returns of 5 per cent to 12 per cent on the invested amount.
Commissioner Kumar said the victim was lured by the potential profits and followed the scammer’s instructions to download an app for registration purposes. In addition, the app was supposedly used to monitor his investment’s status and gains.
Between February and March 2024, he made online payments amounting to RM1,948,000 to a designated bank account in Malaysia. He realised he had been scammed when he could not withdraw the profits shown in the app.
Additionally, he was asked to make further payments, including taxes, to recover his invested capital, while efforts to contact the scammer failed.
Commissioner Kumar reminded the public to be cautious of online investment schemes offering high returns.
“They should verify the legitimacy of companies or investments with relevant bodies such as the Securities Commission and Bank Negara Malaysia,” he said.
“We also encourage the public to use the online Semak Mule service to check the status of phone numbers or bank accounts for records of fraudulent activity.” – THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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