SIBU (Aug 9): A teacher lost more than RM93,000 after she was duped by an online face mask seller recently.
Sibu police chief ACP Stanley Jonathan Ringgit said that the victim claimed that she had purchased 200 boxes of face masks which were priced RM50,000 from an online seller on July 29.
She was promised by the suspect that the items would be delivered on Aug 6, he added.
“She transferred payment in 13 transactions from two of her bank accounts to the suspect’s account within four days until Aug 1 for the purchase.
“On Aug 2, the suspect told the victim to pay for the taxes totalling RM17,360 which she heeded,” Stanley said in a press statement.
Stanley said that on Aug 3, the suspect messaged the victim again and told her to pay for the delivery charges totalling RM8,560.
The victim also followed the instruction and transferred the payment online, he added.
“On Aug 4, the victim transferred RM17,800 to the suspect’s account after she was told to pay for taxes and other charges.
“The suspect later asked the victim to deposit another RM2,500 but she refused,” Stanley said.
The victim only realised that she was cheated after the items did not arrive as promised.
Her calls and messages were also blocked by the suspect, he said.
She then lodged a police report on Aug 7.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.