JOHOR BARU: Two victims were scammed of almost RM2.5million in separate cases of fraudulent investment schemes and impersonation of a police officer on Saturday.
Acting Johor police chief Deputy Commissioner M. Kumar said in the first case, a 44-year-old manager had made cash transfers amounting to RM1,061,010 to several banks as instructed by a man claiming to be from Yomaex Cryptocurrency.
The victim had initially received a message via text application Whatsapp, which provided a link to a profitable investment.
Upon clicking the link, he was contacted by the scammer also via Whatsapp, and was instructed to download the Yomaex Cryptocurrency application, which could be used to monitor his investments and withdraw profits.
After making the cash transfers as instructed, he was unable to withdraw the profits as displayed in the application.
Instead, he was asked to make additional transfers, but he suspected he was being duped when he unable to access the application later, prompting him to lodge a police report.
In the second case, a 45-year-old business proprietor received a call from a man claiming to be from a delivery company, who said that a parcel addressed to her contained contraband items.
However, she was convinced by the caller that a police officer had issued a warrant of arrest, and it was best for her to speak to him directly.
The call was promptly transferred to a person claiming to be a policeman.
The police imposter instructed her to deposit RM1,400,533.80 into designated bank accounts, to avoid legal actions against her, which she promptly did.
She realised that she was scammed after efforts to call the delivery company were futile. She then lodged a police report.
Kumar advised members of the public to remain vigilant, especially in financial transactions, urging them to stay updated via the police's Commercial Crime Investigation Department's social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, to understand the latest commercial crime modus operandi.
He also encouraged the public, to use online verification services like "Semak Mule" and download the "Whoscall" application to minimise the risk of falling victim to scams.
Victims are urged to contact the National Scam Response Centre at 997 to block their bank accounts, if there are any unauthorised withdrawals.
