An elderly Malaysian couple who was hoping to strike it rich in a cryptocurrency investment opportunity now faces the dangers of an uncertain future after losing RM542,171.20 of their savings instead.
According to a report from The News Strait Times, the Perak police chief, Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said that the Hilir Perak district police headquarters received a police report from the husband of the couple, a 70-year-old man last Sunday (July 30th).
He said that initial investigation revealed that the man first came across the investment opportunity on a Facebook advertisement on January 8th, this year.
The advertisement said that the Singapore-based company was offering services to purchase cryptocurrency stocks in the United States of America.
133 transactions made between Jan to July 2023
On the same day, the man contacted the owner of the advertisement through Whatsapp and the owner asked for his details to document the crypto investment.
“On Jan 9, the victim started investing in cryptocurrency shares by buying two units of shares worth RM500. The victim had deposited the money into a local bank account.
“The victim was told by the suspect that he would get a profit of RM4,500 within one day, that is on the same day. The suspect also told the victim that if he did not withdraw the money, the profit would increase over time,” said the Perak police chief in a statement yesterday.
Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri said that a day after that, on January 10th, the man contacted the suspect once again to ask about his investment and was told that he had already made RM18,500 in profit.
“However, the victim was asked to make various payments to the suspect to get the entire result of his investment.
“Between Jan and July this year, the victim made a total of 133 online transactions into 39 local bank accounts involving a total loss of RM542,171.20,” he said.
He also added that during that period, the man did not recoup any of his investments that were made using the money from his savings and his joint retirement funds with his wife.
Even when the victim ran out of money, the suspect still pressed him to continue investing.
Finally, the last straw was when the man asked the suspect to return the money, which was shot down by various reasons and eventually, the suspect stopped responding to the messages.
The case is now currently being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
This case is another example of why we should always be vigilant when pursuing any types of investments, as scammers are running rampant nowadays.
If you’re looking for ways you can detect an investment scam, you can read more on the topic right here.
And remember the golden rule, ‘if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.’
Read More:
Have You Fallen For An Online Scam? Here Are 4 Warning Signs
How Do Scammers Know Who To Call?
