PADAWAN: Lured by the promise of free investment classes, a senior citizen ended up losing nearly half a million ringgit to an online scam that posed as a legitimate financial academy.
The 70-year-old man fell victim to the non-existent online investment scheme earlier this year.
Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Mancha Ata said the local man came across an online advertisement by a company known as Himin International Finance Academy (HIFA) in mid-March while browsing the internet at home.
The advertisement offered free investment classes, which prompted the victim to submit his personal details through a link provided by the company.
“He was later contacted by an unknown male suspect and was added to a WhatsApp group named ‘Homin International Finance Academic’,” he said.
The suspect, believed to be the group administrator, instructed the victim to download an application called ‘PHCview’ to begin investing.
“The victim, unaware of the scam, proceeded to make several transactions totalling approximately RM500,000 into a bank account provided by the suspect.
“The scam only came to light when the victim read a newspaper clipping detailing a similar investment fraud modus operandi,” he said.
Realising he had been duped, the man lodged a police report.
