Retiree cleaned out of RM250,000

BATU PAHAT: A retired teacher who went online looking for a cleaner paid an initial fee of only RM15 but ended up losing her life savings of RM250,000.It is learnt that the teacher, who was expecting guests at her home, sourced for cleaning services on social media earlier this month.

Sources said the teacher clicked on a link and was asked to pay just RM15 as a deposit for the agency to send a cleaner to her home.

“Thinking that it was a good deal, she keyed in all her particulars via the link.

“After a few minutes, the transaction did not go through as there was an ‘error’,” a source said.

The woman, who is in her 50s, did not give it much thought and decided to get someone else to clean her house.

However, the source said a bank contacted the woman about a week later, saying that suspicious activities were detected in her account.

“She rushed to the bank only to find that two of her accounts with money totalling almost RM250,000 had disappeared,” the source said.

The woman lodged a police report several days ago.

In another investment scam, an executive lost more than RM110,000 after she was promised financial assistance totalling RM300,000 given to senior citizens or those with chronic diseases.

Sources said a friend had informed the woman in her 50s about this scheme and asked her to get more details by registering via a link.“She was promised RM300,000 but in order to get the grant, she was required to pay a tax before it would be approved.

“The woman was reluctant but the syndicate member managed to convince her that it was a genuine scheme that has helped many senior citizens and those with chronic diseases,” a source said, adding that the victim eventually decided to pay the tax amounting to RM110,000 in multiple transactions.

It is learnt that she realised that she had been duped when the syndicate started offering her grants totalling RM1mil if she paid more taxes.

She immediately lodged a police report.

A Bukit Aman official confirmed both cases and said investigations are being carried out under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

He advised people, especially retirees, to be wary when doing business with people they only knew online.

The public, he said, should never click on links on social media or reveal their banking details to anyone, especially those who request for online forms to be filled up.

He advised the people to use the Semak Mule mobile app or visit https://semakmule.rmp.gov.my to determine if the bank accounts or phone numbers in question are associated with suspicious activities.