Trader duped of RM106,680 in car sale scam

SIBU: A trader was scammed out of RM106,680 after falling for a fake car sales advertisement on social media.

Sibu police chief ACP Zulkipli Suhaili said the incident happened on Sept 16 when the man in his 40s came across a car sale advertisement posted by ‘Nor Motorsport’ on Facebook.

Attracted to a listing for a 2023 Ford Ranger Raptor 3.0 V6 priced at RM97,800 with a monthly payment plan of RM1,630 over five years, the victim contacted two individuals identified as ‘Nor Vincent’ and ‘Jordan Liew’ via WhatsApp for more details.

“The suspect later offered the vehicle at RM85,000 and requested the victim’s personal details – full name, identification card number, phone number, email, and home address.

“On Sept 21, the victim agreed to the offer and provided his wife’s personal information, including photos of her identification card and driver’s licence.

“The victim then transferred RM106,680 to four different bank accounts through 24 transactions,” he said in a statement.

Upon completing the payment, the suspect demanded an additional RM7,800 for the vehicle’s delivery, however, the victim got suspicious and realised he had been scammed.

Following this, the man filed a police report on Tuesday (Oct 1) and the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating and dishonestly inducing the delivery of property.

ACP Zulkipli urged the public to be cautious and not be easily swayed by online offers, particularly those with unusually low prices, and to always verify the legitimacy of such deals to avoid falling victim to scams.

For further assistance or information, the public can contact the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) at 997, or follow the Facebook pages of @cybercrimealertrmp and @jsjkpdrm. Suspicious bank accounts or phone numbers can also be verified via http://ccid.rmp.gov.my/semakmule/.