Pahang: An accountant and a retired teacher suffered losses totalling RM414,902.67 after falling victim to non-existent investment schemes that promised lucrative returns last month.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Pahang police chief Datuk Seri Yahaya Othman said that in the first case, the 21-year-old woman accountant became poorer by RM240,467.61 after coming across an investment advertisement on Instagram. The woman received a WhatsApp message from an unidentified number when she clicked on a link in the advertisement, which gave details of the so-called investment scheme.

Yahaya detailed that the accountant made 16 cash transactions totalling RM240,467.61 from her company’s and personal accounts to eight different accounts. However, the victim never received any returns and lodged a police report upon realising that she had been duped.

In another case, Yahaya reported that an 80-year-old man lost RM174,435.06 after being lured into joining a cryptocurrency trading investment scheme last October after receiving a call from an unidentified number. The victim invested almost RM60,000 and monitored his investment via an application. From October 2024 till February 2025, the man found that his investment had risen to USDT 3 million. Upon requesting to withdraw all the money, he was instructed to pay RM114,435.06 in taxes.

The retired teacher made a cash transaction to an account provided by the suspect and only realised he had been scammed when he was told to make additional tax payments involving a substantial amount. Yahaya stated that the cases are being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code and advised the public to check first before investing in any online schemes to avoid being scammed.