BAU: A 41-year-old teacher lost RM1,340 after falling victim to an online scam involving purported limited-edition denim clothing on Sunday (Mar 1).
Bau police chief DSP Mohd Haide A. Rahman said the victim lodged a report the following day (Mar 2) after realising he had been deceived by an Instagram seller.
He said the victim had browsed an account under the name “Preloved And Bundle Original” and was interested in purchasing a pair of jeans priced at RM340 and a denim jacket priced at RM300.
“The complainant then made two online transfers amounting to RM640 to an Alliance Bank account obtained through a phone number provided by the suspect,” he said.
Mohd Haide said the following day, the victim received WhatsApp messages instructing him to make additional payments of RM200 and RM500 purportedly for postage and customs clearance.
The victim was later asked to pay a further RM1,000 for customs release.
Becoming suspicious, he stopped further payments after suffering total losses of RM1,340.
“The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code,” he said, adding that checks on the bank account and phone number involved found no prior records.
Mohd Haide said the victim had contacted the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) at 997 to report the incident.
Police advised the public to verify sellers before making online payments and to avoid transferring money to unknown third parties.
