PASIR GUDANG: A housewife was devastated after losing over RM700,000 of her savings in a Bitcoin cryptocurrency investment scam.
Acting Seri Alam district police chief Dr Mohd Roslan Mohd Tahir said the 47-year-old local woman lodged a report at the district police headquarters yesterday.
He said the victim became interested in an investment opportunity advertised on Facebook in late August.
"The victim clicked the link on the advertisement to learn more and was subsequently added to an online VIP investment group.
"In the group, several individuals provided her explanations about the investments," he said in a statement.
He said she was promised high returns within a month.
The victim then downloaded an investment application to monitor the Bitcoin she invested in and view her purported profits, he said.
"Enticed by the promised lucrative returns, the victim made 12 transactions between Oct 29 and Nov 18 totalling RM896,813 into seven different bank accounts," he said in a statement today.
He said the victim saw a profit of US$185,838 (RM827,142.81) displayed on the investment application and attempted to withdraw her earnings.
However, the victim was only paid RM144,415 in profits.
"For further withdrawals, she was instructed to pay an additional 1 per cent of her profits, at which point she suspected she had been scammed," he said.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 and Section 424 of the Penal Code for cheating.