SIBU: An airline company employee lost RM48,340 after he was duped into purchasing a Toyota Fortuner recently.
The incident happened on July 26 when the 25-year-old man came across a car on sale advertisement on Facebook and reached out to a woman for the purpose of buying the car.
Sibu OCPD ACP Zulkipli Suhaili said the victim was instructed to make several payments for various purposes such as registration, road tax, Road Transport Department (RTD) approval and others.
“Without second-guessing, the man transferred a sum of RM48,340 via eight transactions into three bank accounts.
“He realised that he was being cheated when the suspect kept asking for extra payment despite having already paid a large amount,” he said, adding that a police report was lodged on Aug 1.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
Zulkipli advised the public to take precautionary measures before making any vehicle purchase online to avoid becoming a victim of fraud.
He pointed out that it is better to conduct a survey and check the current selling price in the market, go directly to the car sales company store to see the car and talk to the company owner or an authorised sales agent.
“Do not be easily fooled in car sales advertisement that offer too cheap or special prices on the grounds of tax exemptions, cars confiscated by the authorities or other reasons that cannot be verified as valid.
“In addition, the public also need to ensure that the sale and purchase agreement is through a certified method to avoid falling prey to a scam,” he said.
