KUANTAN: An assistant information technology officer has been left with debts totaling RM140,000 after taking two personal loans to invest in a non-existent scheme last month.
The 45-year-old victim, employed at a government agency here, lost a total of RM153,023 to scammers who initially lured him in by paying out profits on two earlier investments.
Pahang police chief Datuk Seri Yahaya Othman said the victim befriended an individual on Tinder, who introduced him to the fraudulent investment scheme through a digital trading platform.
"The victim was promised returns of up to 45 per cent on an investment of RM100,000. He assumed the scheme was legitimate after receiving lucrative profits from the first two investments.
"The victim secured two bank loans and used his savings, amounting to RM153,023, to participate in the scheme. He made eight transactions into three bank accounts allegedly linked to a company between Oct 28 and Nov 6," he said in a statement today.
Yahaya said the victim soon discovered that his account had been suspended, and he was unable to withdraw his profits before he lodged a police report yesterday.
The case is investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
Yahaya urged the public to conduct thorough checks using the 'investment checker' application at https://www.sc.com.my/investment-checker before engaging in any investment schemes.