IPOH – A woman lost RM6.22 million after allegedly falling victim to a non-existent gold investment scheme since October last year, the highest amount of losses due to scams in Perak so far.
State police chief Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said the woman, aged 61, who is a trader from Taman Rasi Jaya here, browsed an investment blog on the social networking site Facebook on October 14 last year.
“The woman then clicked a link with the suspect’s telephone number through the WhatsApp application and the suspect then entered the woman’s phone number into various WhatsApp groups to invest in the gold market,” he said in a statement today.
“Since then, the woman deposited funds 32 times, amounting to RM6.22 million, to 11 bank accounts.”
He said the woman only realised she had been duped when she wanted to withdraw her investment money of RM2.2 million yesterday but the suspect did not reply to her message and the investment platform could not be accessed.
According to Yusri, the woman lodged a police report yesterday and the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code. – January 23, 2024