Man in Johor Bahru loses nearly $300k in crypto scam
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The scam was tied to purported Bitcoin investments.
ST PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: GAVIN FOO
Follow topic:
JOHOR BAHRU – A 42-year-old man in Malaysia lost close to RM1 million (S$289,300) of his savings after falling for a cryptocurrency scam.
Johor Baru South Police Assistant Commissioner Raub Selamat said the victim filed a report on Nov 18.
“The victim alleged he was cheated by a foreigner who offered a cryptocurrency investment using a mobile application,” Mr Raub said in a statement on Nov 20.
“The victim was promised that he would receive a 60 per cent return on his investment within 60 minutes.
“The scammer also claimed that the victim would also receive revenue for every investment transaction made.”
The victim then made 126 transactions totalling RM989,170 for purported Bitcoin investments.
“He only realised that he had been duped after he was unable to withdraw his money using the app, and found his account blocked,” Mr Raub said.
In an unrelated case, a 77-year-old man lost RM207,900 in a phone scam.
“A report was lodged on Nov 16 when the victim received a call from a delivery company. The scammer claimed that the victim sent a parcel containing an ATM card, a passport and an identity card.
“The scammer also told the victim that an arrest warrant had been issued against him,” Mr Raub said.
The victim then made 20 transactions worth RM207,900 to the scammers.
Both cases are being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
Said Mr Raub: “Always be vigilant and check the given account number to see if it has been registered as a scam account through Semak Mule, or do research on the company first.”
“Avoid entertaining calls from unknown numbers, especially those that make claims to be from a parcel company,” he added. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
