ISKANDAR PUTERI: A 56-year-old man lost more than RM400,000 after falling for a fake cryptocurrency investment scheme.

       Iskandar Puteri OCPD Asst Comm Rahmat Ariffin said the victim lodged a police report on the case last Sunday (Jan 21) after realising that he had been duped.

       "The victim came across an advertisement regarding bitcoin investment on Facebook and made a registration via the provided link. He then made contact with an unknown suspect to make payment," he said.

       "The victim made a total of RM413,522 in payments to nine different bank accounts between November last year and January this year," added ACP Rahmat in a statement on Saturday (Jan 27).

       ACP Rahmat added that when the victim checked his investment account, he noticed that he had made almost USD1.5mil (RM7mil) within two months.

       "The victim decided to withdraw the money he had made; however, he was informed that he needed to pay another RM176,575 as a processing fee," he said, adding that it was then that the victim realised that he had been duped.

       ACP Rahmat added that the public is urged to always be extra vigilant when coming across investment offers that sound too good to be true and a high return within a short amount of time.

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       "Do not be easily consumed by greed, as this is nothing more than a scammer's tactic to bait victims," he added.

       The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.