JASIN: A man's dream of profiting from stock purchases turned into a nightmare after losing RM108,000 to a non-existent investment syndicate.
The 73-year-old retiree fell into the scam after seeing an investment offer advertised on Facebook.
District police chief Deputy Superintendent Ahmad Jamil Radzi said the victim, attracted by the promise of high returns in a short time, clicked on the advertisement link to connect with the suspect.
"The call was then connected to WhatsApp and the suspect explained the investment package to the victim.
"Before joining, the victim was instructed to download an app (Ats-Pro) and would receive RM6,000 to purchase one unit of stock.
"He later received an initial profit of RM3,000, which motivated him to increase his investment for larger profits," he said in a statement.
Ahmad Jamil said investigations revealed that since August, the victim had made several incremental payments totalling RM108,000 into four different bank accounts provided by the suspect.
"The victim discovered that the profit claimed through Ats-Pro was RM373,287.67 within just two months.
"However, the victim felt cheated when he failed to withdraw that profit and was instructed by the suspect to make an additional payment of RM60,000, allegedly as a withdrawal tax," he said.
He said the victim then filed a report and the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
The offence carries a maximum penalty of 10 years' jail, whipping and a fine.