KUANTAN: A doctor lost RM468,000 after falling victim to a non-existent investment scheme that she joined online.
Pahang police chief Datuk Seri Yahaya Othman said that the doctor, a 55-year-old woman, lodged a report yesterday.
She fell for an investment scheme advertised on Facebook on May 30.
He said the advertisement promoted a stock investment scheme fraudulently linked to social media influencer Dr Adam Zubir.
Dr Adam, a medical doctor, is also a well known certified financial planner and has a big online following.
“The victim was later contacted by a suspect who introduced herself as Mavis, allegedly representing an international investment company based in Singapore.
“The suspect promised lucrative profits of between 80 and 128 per cent within a month.
“Influenced by the promise, the victim made 14 transactions amounting to RM468,000 into four different bank accounts between June 17 and Aug 6.
“Investigations found that the funds came from the victim’s Employees Provident Fund (EPF) savings,” he said in a statement today.
Yahaya said that after the payments were made, the victim was only shown fake profit figures through images sent by the suspect.
Based on those images, he said, the supposed profit amounted to RM800,000 including the capital.
“The victim was then asked to make an additional payment of RM152,725 allegedly as tax before being allowed to withdraw the profit.
“However, the victim became suspicious and refused to pay further, resulting in a loss of RM468,000.
“The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code,” he said.
Following the case, he advised the public to be cautious with online investments, especially those promising high returns in a short period of time, particularly those promoted through social media.
“Before making any transactions, it is best to conduct an initial check at the official portal https://semakmule.rmp.gov.my to identify bank accounts with fraud records.
“Members of the public who suspect they have fallen victim to scams are advised to immediately contact the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) at 997,” he said.
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