PADAWAN: A real estate agent here lost RM400,000 to a part-time job scam yesterday (Oct 9).
Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Mohd Azman Ahmad Sapri said the victim, a man in his early 30s, was browsing an e-commerce content management system (CMS) website at the end of August when his phone number was included in a Telegram group.
“The victim had been enticed with the prospects of significant earnings through a part-time job and provided with a registration link.
“Subsequently, he was instructed to cover the cost of customer orders and assured of making a profit,” he said.
Between the end of August and the end of September, the victim conducted a total of 45 transactions, amounting to RM400,000, distributed across 12 different bank accounts.
“As per the victim’s account, during the initial two weeks, he received a profit of only RM15,985. It was only then that he discovered he had fallen victim to a scam as the payment for requested goods escalated and the quantity of goods to be paid for increased, but yet he received no profit.
“He attempted to reach out to the company in an effort to request a capital return but was unsuccessful, leading him to file a police report,” Mohd Azam said.
The case is currently under investigation under Section 420 of the Penal Code with regard to cheating and dishonestly inducing the transfer of property.
