Engineer in Kuching loses RM500,000 to investment scam

KUCHING (July 12): An elderly man became the latest victim of an investment scam here after losing around half a million ringgit.

The engineer in his 70s allegedly lost around RM500,000 after investing with a stock market investment group in May this year.

Sarawak Police Commissioner Dato Mancha Ata in a statement today said the man came across the advertisement on Facebook while he was in Sibu on April 19, before contacting a suspect named Tan Teng Boo on WhatsApp to convey his interest in investing.

Mancha said the alleged scammer then asked the victim to transfer payments for the investment, which promised high returns.

“The victim made two transactions amounting to around RM500,000 to the suspect’s bank account in May 2024,” said Mancha.

He said the victim only realised that he had been duped after he did not receive the promised returns, but was instead asked to make additional payments.

A police report was lodged by the victim yesterday (July 11), Mancha added.

In a separate case, a restaurant worker from Bintulu lodged a police report of an alleged online part-time job scam.

The victim, who is in her 20s, was added to a WhatsApp group named ‘B2-39 THAT’S IT’ which offers online part-time jobs on July 2.

“The victim contacted the group administrator via phone to register and was asked to like and subscribe to a YouTube channel to earn commissions,” said Mancha.

He added that the victim was also asked to complete an online task at a cost of RM390, which she fulfilled.

After completing the task, the victim received approximately RM500 in payments.

“Believing that she could earn more, she agreed to complete more tasks, and by July 2024, the victim had made 23 online transactions amounting to about RM108,000 to seven different bank accounts,” said Mancha.

He added that the victim only realised that she was duped after she did not receive further returns.

Mancha said the money she transferred to the suspect’s account, included her own savings as well as her mother’s savings, which were transferred without her mother’s knowledge.

On that note, he advised the public to contact the National Scam Response Centre at 997 if you are a victim of cyber scams such as phone scams, love scams, e-commerce scams, non-existant loans and if you have made any monetary transactions to suspicious bank accounts or e-wallets.

He also advised the public to download the Whoscall app from the Google Play Store or Apple Store to help in filtering incoming calls.

Mancha added the police’s Commercial Crime Investigation Department and developers of Whoscall have collaborated to allow phone numbers listed in the department’s system database to be marked as scammers by the app.

Additionally, the public can also check the suspect’s phone number and bank accounts through the Check Scammer CCID app or at the website https://semakmule.rmp.gov.my/ before making any financial transactions.

The public can visit the department’s official social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to get the latest information on scam modus operandi.