Photo for illustration purposes only.
SIBU (Oct 13): A salesman here lost RM54,800 after he responded to a non-existent investment scheme online.
Sarawak Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) chief Supt Maria Rasid said the victim in his 40s was browsing through Facebook on Aug 24, when he came across the investment scheme offered by ‘Happybuy003’.
She said the victim was interested in the offer and left a message.
“On Aug 26, the victim received a message via WhatsApp from the seller, who introduced himself as Jason and offered the victim to invest in the Happybuy Application,” she said in a statement.
Maria said the victim was promised a 10 per cent return on investment.
“He then received a link from the suspect and when he pressed the link, he found it was like a Shopee account, which he downloaded,” she said.
Maria said the victim then made 26 transactions totalling RM54,800 to three bank accounts in the name of different companies between Aug 28 and Oct 1.
The victim only realised he had been duped when he did not receive any profit from the investment, leading him to lodge a police report.
Maria reminded the public to always be aware that investment opportunities offered on social media platforms could be scams.
“Always deal with individuals or entities licensed or registered with the Securities Commission of Malaysia (SC) only,” she added.
The public can check with the SC Investors List of Licence Holders and the list of recognised market operators before making an investment online.
Those in doubt about an investment can contact the SC on 03-62048999 or [email protected].
The public can also check the bank account and telephone number of sellers at http://ccid.rmp.gov.my/semakmule/ prior to making any payment to avoid being cheated.
Contact the CCID Scam Resource Centre on 03-26101559 or 03-26101599, or CCID info line on 013-2111222 (WhatsApp or SMS) for advice or to channel information on online crimes.