Online scams: Two women in Pahang lose RM565,200

KUANTAN - Two women in Pahang lost a total of RM565,200 after falling victim to online scams.

Pahang police chief Datuk Seri Yahaya Othman said the first case involved a 44-year-old doctor, who invested RM433,700 after being attracted to a bitcoin investment advertisement on Telegram last July.

He said the victim clicked on a link that was connected to the investment administrator's WhatsApp application, which offered investment packages starting from as low as RM500 up to RM5,000.

"The victim chose a basic package with a capital of RM500 that promised a return of RM15,000 within three hours. Throughout the investment period, the victim made 22 cash transactions to 16 different accounts totalling RM433,700.

"The victim, however, realised she had been scammed when she did not receive any returns nor the money she invested and lodged a police report,” he said.

In the second case, Yahaya said a 61-year-old businesswoman lost RM131,500 after receiving a call from a suspect posing as a Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) staff who claimed that she was involved in electricity theft at her home in January.

He said the suspect allegedly told the victim that she was also involved in illegal money activities and connected the call to the Kuantan Police Headquarters for her to speak to a so-called Inspector.

"The suspect then told her to transfer her money to an account provided and the victim made 26 cash transactions totalling RM131,500, which she sourced from her savings and Employees Provident Fund (EPF).

"The victim only realised she had been duped when she was contacted again to transfer more money. As such, we would like to advise the public to check first before making any online investments,” he said. - BERNAMA