MARAN: A 50-year-old trader lost nearly RM200,000 of her savings to scammers on Aug 3 after attempting to purchase fruits worth only RM141.60.
The victim not only lost RM109,991 from her personal savings, but also RM89,996 from a joint bank account she shared with her husband.
District police chief Superintendent Wong Kim Wai said the victim had come across a “Borong Buah” advertisement on Facebook on Aug 3 and contacted the number provided.
“She spoke to an individual claiming to be involved in the fruit business and was instructed to download an APK file. After doing so, she was asked to fill in her personal details to facilitate a cash-on-delivery transaction for fruits worth RM141.60.
“On Aug 6, she was alerted by her bank about suspicious transactions involving her accounts.
“Investigations showed that RM109,991 had been transferred from her personal account to seven unknown accounts,” he said in a statement today.
Wong said the scammers had also withdrawn RM89,996 from the joint account registered under both her and her husband’s names.
The victim lodged a police report yesterday.
Wong advised the public not to download suspicious APK files from social media and to avoid entering personal or banking information on unverified websites.
He also urged scam victims to immediately contact the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) at 997 to block further losses.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
