BAU: A sales assistant lost RM3,270 after an online loan he applied for through a Facebook advertisement turned out to be a scam.
The 24-year-old lodged a police report yesterday (Jul 6) after the promised loan failed to materialise despite him making several payments requested by the suspects.
Bau police chief Supt Mohd Haide A. Rahman said the victim came across the loan advertisement while browsing Facebook at his home on Jul 1.
Interested in obtaining a personal loan, he clicked on the advertisement and was later contacted via WhatsApp by individuals claiming to represent a loan company.
“After submitting a copy of his identity card, the victim decided to cancel the application. However, he was told he would first have to pay a RM5,000 cancellation penalty.
“To avoid the penalty, he continued with the application for a RM3,000 loan, which the suspects claimed required monthly repayments of RM132 over two years.
“The victim was then instructed to make a series of payments for various purported charges, including loan insurance, agreement processing, account activation, loan adjustment, SST, deposit verification and agreement fees,” he said.
Trusting the process, he transferred a sum of RM3,270 into three different bank accounts between July 1 and July 3.
Despite making all the requested payments, the loan was never disbursed.
Mohd Haide said when he tried to cancel the application again, the suspects allegedly demanded another RM5,000 penalty, prompting the victim to realise he had been scammed.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating and dishonestly inducing the delivery of property.
Further checks found that two of the bank accounts involved had each been linked to three previous scam reports, while another account had one previous record.
One of the phone numbers used by the suspects had also been associated with two earlier police reports.
