KEPALA BATAS, Feb 26: An insurance agent lost RM252,074 after she was cheated by a non-existent moneylending syndicate here recently.
Seberang Perai Utara district police chief ACP Noorzainy Mohd Noor said the 50-year-old woman from Bertam Perdana initially wanted to take a loan of RM200,000 after she became interested in a loan advertisement under the name of a bank through a Google search.
The woman claimed that she followed the instructions in the advertisement including leaving her phone number before being contacted by a man claiming to be an employee of the bank offering personal loans through the WhatsApp application.
“The man said that if she (victim) wanted to take a loan, the victim would have to make various payments for the loan process including insurance payments and the victim agreed because she wanted to renovate her house among others,“ he said in a statement, today.
Noorzainy said the woman made 25 money transfer transactions of RM252,074 into 18 different bank accounts as instructed by the suspect and the victim was still asked to make additional payments.
He said the victim then felt she had been scammed, so she contacted the bank only to learn that the financial institution had never offered any loans through Google search. The victim then lodged a police report yesterday after failing to contact the “bank employee”.
He said further investigations are ongoing including identifying the 18 account owners whose accounts were used for the transfer of money from the victim.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.- Bernama
