IPOH: A 61-year-old factory owner from Taman Rasi Jaya here lost about RM6.2mil after falling victim to a non-existent investment scheme.

       Perak police chief Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said the sum was the largest amount of money an individual had lost to scammers in the state this year.

       Comm Mohd Yusri said the victim only realised that she had been deceived after she failed to withdraw money from the supposed gold investment scheme.

       “The victim came across a post about the investment scheme on Facebook on Oct 14 last year and clicked on the link, which led her to the WhatsApp number of an unknown person, who then added her into a chat group for the scheme.

       “The victim made 32 transactions into 11 different bank accounts totalling about RM6.2mil,” he said in a statement yesterday.

       “On Monday, when the victim wanted to withdraw RM2.2mil, she did not receive any response from the suspect.

       “She could not access the investment platform website and then realised she had been cheated,” he said.

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       Comm Mohd Yusri said the matter is now being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

       He warned the people to be careful about investment schemes on social media.

       “They can contact the National Scam Response Centre at 997 if they are victims of a non-existent investment scheme or have made transactions to a mule account.

       “For queries involving such crimes, the people can contact the police Commercial Crime Investigation Department infoline at 013-211 1222 via WhatsApp between 8am and 10pm,” he said.