Ipoh: A 32-year-old diving instructor lost RM304,422 after falling victim to a non-existent investment scheme advertised on Facebook last September. Perak acting police chief DCP Zulkafli Sariaat said the woman filed a police report regarding the incident at the Ipoh District Police Headquarters yesterday.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the victim saw the advertisement on her Facebook feed on Sept 11, clicked on the link, and contacted an unknown woman, who was later identified as the suspect. The suspect then added the victim to a WhatsApp group and explained the details of the investment, which promised high returns, sparking the victim’s interest.

The victim continued communicating via WhatsApp with the suspect, who then instructed her to download the ‘AE Online’ app to begin investing in stocks. Zulkafli said the victim was convinced to make 14 transactions into two bank accounts provided by the suspect, totaling RM304,422.

Preliminary investigations revealed that on Nov 15, the victim received a so-called ‘return’ of RM7,960 from the investment, but when she requested the payment of the returns, the suspect failed to follow through. The victim later realized she had been scammed after discovering that the website did not exist, prompting her to file a police report.

The funds used by the victim were from her savings and loans from family and friends. The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code. Zulkafli also urged the public to be cautious about investment offers on social media and to conduct thorough checks before making financial commitments.