JOHOR BARU: A 60-year-old man lost RM406,654 after falling victim to a fake investment scheme he came across on Facebook on May 20.
The victim came across the investment opportunity advertised as "dimensional", offering a 10 per cent interest on the invested capital within three months.
Johor Baru (North) police chief Assistant Commissioner Balveer Singh said the victim gave his bank account details to a man who introduced himself as "Vincent".
Between July 25 and Oct 3, he made 30 online cash transactions amounting to RM461,900 to seven accounts provided by Vincent.
For his substantial investment, he received RM55,246 in returns. But when he attempted to claim back his capital, Vincent suddenly cut all communications with him.
Realising that he had been duped, he then lodged a police report.
Balveer said the case is investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating, and police were tracking the owners of the bank accounts, which were believed to be mule accounts.
He urged the public to stay vigilant against the rising commercial crime trends. He advised against trusting online investment schemes that promised high returns with minimal effort.
The public is encouraged to use the "Semak Mule" service or call the CCID Scam Response Centre at 03-2610 1559/03-2610 1599 for information on potential scams. They can also reach out to the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) via the hotline at 997 before making any financial transactions.
He reminded the public that these scams were becoming sophisticated, and it was essential to verify the legitimacy of any online investments or job offers to avoid falling victim to fraud.