Singaporean businessman in Johor loses $213k to scam

JOHOR BAHRU - A recent immigration blitz on illegal foreign workers in Johor has attracted the attention of scammers, who are contacting employers and offering to help get their workers released for a hefty fee.

Some of their activities were uncovered when a businessman lost almost RM700,000 (S$213,000) while attempting to get about 130 foreign workers released.

A man, who claimed to be a Datuk Seri, reportedly assured the Singaporean businessman that he would be able to free his partners’ workers who had been detained during an immigration operation.

The Datuk Seri had allegedly demanded almost RM700,000 as his service fee, claiming that he had to “pay off” many immigration officers to secure a release.

A security official said the businessman, who was initially sceptical, was tricked into believing that the Datuk Seri was an influential person who had contacts in the Immigration Department.

“The syndicate even provided the bank account of a Datuk to bank in the deposit to convince the victim that it was a genuine deal,” the official said.

But the Singaporean suspected something was amiss when the Datuk Seri could not be contacted after he handed over the money. He then lodged a police report.

A senior police officer confirmed the case and said investigations were under way.

In an unrelated case, a 45-year-old doctor lost RM2.6 million after being duped in an online investment scheme promising high returns.

Johor police chief Ab Rahaman Arsad said the victim was attracted to an advertisement promoting the scheme on a social media platform on May 25.

He said the suspect promised the victim that the overseas-based investment scheme would give returns of between 5 per cent and 15 per cent.

“The victim also downloaded an application on his mobile phone to monitor the transactions of the investment,” he added.

The doctor made a total of 56 transactions to eight accounts of different banks from May 25 to Aug 8, amounting to RM2.6 million.

“The victim realised he was cheated only after failing to withdraw the money using the monitoring application,” the police chief said.

He reminded the public to be alert and careful, especially in matters involving financial transactions when dealing with unknown people.

Individuals can use the online Semak Mule service to check if bank accounts have been flagged for fraudulent activities, report scams to the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID)-managed National Scam Response Centre, or contact the CCID or cybercrime department via their Facebook accounts @jsjkpdrm and @cybercrimealertrmp respectively.

Scam victims are advised to call the National Scam Response Centre to report their case. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK