BAU: A 44-year-old woman lost RM3,285 after falling victim to an online gold purchase scam advertised on TikTok.
Bau police chief Act Supt Mohd Haide A. Rahman said the victim lodged a police report at 12.11pm on Sunday (Mar 8).
He said the scam began on Mar 3 when the victim came across an advertisement offering gold jewellery through a TikTok account using the name “Pajak Gadai Lelong Emas 916”.
“The victim contacted a suspect via WhatsApp who introduced herself as ‘Nurul Hana’ and agreed to purchase two gold bracelets and one necklace advertised for RM260,” he said in a statement.
The suspect instructed the victim to transfer the payment to a Touch ‘n Go account, which she did on the same day.
Mohd Haide said the victim was later asked to pay RM750 as a fee to change the ownership name of the jewellery.
“The victim made the payment to another Touch ‘n Go account as instructed,” he added.
On the following day, the suspect again contacted the victim and requested a further RM2,205, claiming it was for tax payment and would be refunded later.
Believing the explanation, the victim made three online transfers to an Alliance Bank account.
However, the suspect continued asking for additional payments, which raised the victim’s suspicion.
“She realised she had been cheated after the suspect kept giving various excuses and requesting more payments,” the police chief said.
The victim suffered a total loss of RM3,285 from five transactions made to three different accounts.
Police have classified the case under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
