BATU PAHAT: A 64-year-old man, who had painstakingly saved nearly half a million ringgit for his golden years, lost RM400,900 to an online digital currency investment scam orchestrated by someone he befriended on Facebook in March.
Their conversation moved from FB to WhatsApp, and his 'friend' introduced him to the world of digital currency trading, a month later.
District acting police chief Superintendent Shahrulanuar Mushaddat Abdullah Sani said the victim was asked to register on kakauet.com with his personal details to set up an investment account.
Between April 3 and June 18, he raked in lucrative profits on his investments which was displayed on the website.
However, it is learnt that investors are required to keep a substantial amount in their trading account, before its returns can be withdrawn.
This prompt the victim to make online cash transfers amounting to RM400,900 in stages to eight given bank accounts.
However, a few days prior to him striking it rich, his investment account was purportedly frozen by the US Department of the Treasury.
To resolve the problem, he had to pay an additional three percent tax of the total investment to release the funds.
He grew wary and refused. Realising he had just been duped, a police report was lodged.
Shahrulanuar reminded the public to refrain from transferring large amounts of cash to strangers.
"If the investment opportunities sound too good to be true, they are often are not," he said, adding the case is investigated under Section 420 of the penal code for cheating.