College student lost almost RM15,000 in part-time job scam

JOHOR BARU: A 19-year-old college student from Kuala Lumpur has lost almost RM15,000 after falling prey to a part-time job scam she found on social media.

The woman, who only wanted to be known as Wendy, said she saw an advertisement on Facebook about a job where she could get commissions by simply leaving good reviews for an airline company.

“A woman who claimed to be an employee from the company contacted me and explained about the so-called part-time job.

“She said that I am only required to leave some good reviews for the company to drive online traffic for them. After completing my first task, I received RM23 from the company.

“The woman said that for me to carry out the next task, I would need to transfer RM100 to a bank account and would later get back RM131, which included the commission.

“I got my money back and the commission as promised after completing the second task. This made me believe it was a legitimate part-time job that could help me make some pocket money,” she said.

She said this in an online press conference organised by the MCA National Public Complaints and Service Bureau deputy chief Chua Jian Boon.

Wendy said that the amount she had to pay increased with each task, prompting her to borrow money from a friend to continue doing the “part-time job”.

“I got my money back for the first few tasks. Initially, I only needed to bank a few hundred and get the money back soon after.

“Eventually, the amount I have to pay went up to the thousands. At this point, I was told that I could only get my money back after completing several tasks instead of just one.

“I continue to pay more money in hopes of getting back the amount I have invested. However, the amount kept increasing, and I could no longer afford to give any more money.

“After giving thousands of Ringgit, I was told that I needed to bank another RM5,000 to get my money back along with the promised commission. That was when I decided to call 997 (the National Scam Response Centre),” she said.

She said that she lost almost RM15,000 from the scam, where RM12,000 was money she borrowed from a friend.

“My friend did tell me that there was something fishy about the job, but I did not believe it at first.

“I have also checked the account numbers I transfer money to and the phone number of the woman contacting on the ‘Semak Mule’ application and found no match.

“On top of that, the woman also gave me an online certificate of the company that was allegedly issued by the Companies Commission of Malaysia,” she said, adding that she has since lodged a police report in Kuala Lumpur.

Meanwhile, Chua said that he has received two similar cases with losses of more than RM30,000.

“I urge the public to be wary of such scams that seem to have become more common these days.

“I would also like to remind the public not to be enticed into allowing such syndicate to use their bank account as account mules,” he said, adding that a mule account holder could be charged under the Penal Code.

He added that the MCA National Public Complaints and Service Bureau will continue to assist the authorities in curbing such syndicates.

Chua said those who experience a similar ordeal could also contact them at 07-3630008.