TANGKAK: A man lost RM48,085 after falling victim to an investment scam when a stranger contacted him on WhatsApp.
District police chief Superintendent Roslan Mohd Talib confirmed that the victim, a local man in his 50s, reported the incident on Dec 1.
Roslan said that in October, the victim received a WhatsApp message from someone claiming to be a representative of an alcoholic beverage company seeking investment partners, promising an 80 per cent return on investment.
Enticed by the promise of high profits, the victim made 10 transactions to three different accounts between Nov 1 and Nov 11, totalling RM48,085.
However, when no returns were received during this period, the victim realised he had been scammed after being unable to contact the suspect to withdraw the promised earnings.
Roslan confirmed that the case was under investigation for cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
Police are also looking into the potential involvement of "money mule" accounts as part of their investigation.
He urged the public to exercise caution when presented with online investment or job offers that promise quick and high returns.
"Please use online services provided by the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID), such as Semak Mule, the CCID Scam Response Centre at 03-26101559 or 03-26101599, the CCID Infoline, JSJK PDRM Facebook page, BSJK PDRM Facebook page, or the National Scam Response Centre at 997 to gather information on commercial crimes before making any transactions," he said.