Sibu Housewife Loses RM447,300 To Phantom Investment That Offered Lucrative Returns

SIBU, May 22 (Bernama) -- An elderly housewife here became the latest victim of a non-existent online investment fraud syndicate, when she was deceived of RM447,300 by the lure of lucrative returns.

Sibu police chief ACP Zulkipli Suhaili said the Commercial Crime Investigation Division of the Sibu district police headquarters (IPD) received a report from the victim, in her 60s, yesterday and an investigation paper has been opened under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

"On Jan 11 this year, the victim met a woman who introduced herself as 'Ah Chong' via Facebook before contacting another suspect using the name 'Amy' via WhatsApp.

"The suspect offered the victim to participate in a stock investment scheme via a WhatsApp group known as 'Programme VIP012'," he said in a statement today.

Zulkipli said that after seeing testimonials from other investors who allegedly made lucrative profits, the victim agreed to participate in the investment named 'J.P. Morgan Family Office'.

According to him, the victim only needed to make a payment into the account provided by the suspect with a guarantee that the profits would be deposited into the account uploaded in the name of 'JPFO Max'.

The victim was excited after finding the high investment profits when checking via the JPFO Max application and continued to make 33 money transfer transactions between April 16 and May 20 to five local accounts totalling RM447,300.

When informed that the total accumulated profit had reached RM800,000, the victim requested a withdrawal but the suspect claimed that the investment was still ongoing and required additional capital before any withdrawal was allowed.

After making the payment, the victim finally realised that she had been cheated and came forward to file a report and in this regard, Zulkipli advised the public to be careful with investment offers that promise lucrative returns and to check with the authorities first.

The public can check the list of companies or websites that have not received approval via the Bank Negara Malaysia website at www.bnm.gov.my or contact BNMTELELINK at 1-300-88-5465, as well as the Securities Commission of Malaysia at www.sc.com.my or 03-6204 8999.

They can also check via the Investment Checker application or the website https://www.sc.com.my/investment-checker,” he said.

Any further information or advice regarding fraudulent activities can also be obtained through the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) at 997 or via the Facebook page @CyberCrimeAlertRMP.

-- BERNAMA