JOHOR BARU: A 70-year-old clothing trader lost RM2,118,000 to an online forex investment scam he joined via WhatsApp last month.
He lodged a police report yesterday after he was unable to withdraw the RM6.2 million in profits he had made since he started the forex trading investments between November and early December.
Johor police chief, Datuk M. Kumar, said the victim knew about the investment after he saw it on a WhatsApp channel and joined the investment group.
The group administrator had advertised high returns from foreign currency trading, which attracted the trader.
He then contacted the group administrator for further details and was convinced by the promise of immediate profits.
He made several bank transfers amounting to RM2,118,000 to several banks provided by the group administrator. He also downloaded an application and registered an account to monitor his investments.
The app displayed RM6.2 million in profits; however, when he attempted to withdraw the funds or sell the shares, the transactions were unsuccessful. He then realised that he was conned.
Kumar reminded the public that most online investment schemes are fraudulent and likely to end in scams. He urged them to exercise caution and avoid being easily swayed by investment opportunities advertised on social media.
"Anyone can fall victim to scams, regardless of their status or profession," he added.
Federal Commercial Crime Investigation Department director, Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf, warned that most online scam victims were aged 50 and above.
Between 2022 and last year, almost 60,000 people fell victim to online scams, with 18.6 per cent of them aged above 50.