Young farmer loses RM163,000 in investment offered by Facebook friend

KUANTAN: A farmer lodged a police report claiming he lost RM163,000 after being deceived into participating in an investment scheme by a woman he befriended on Facebook last month.

Pahang Commercial Crime Investigation Department head Supt Mohd Wazir Mohd Yusof said the 25-year-old victim claimed that he was promised the return of the capital and profit within a short time from the investment.

"The victim claimed to have given a WhatsApp phone number to the suspect and after several discussions, he agreed to invest.

"On Sept 7, the victim claimed to have transferred RM70,000 into an account given by the suspect, as a start-up capital followed by several more online transactions a few days later," he said in a statement here today.

Mohd Wazir said the victim became suspicious and felt cheated when his messages to the suspect's WhatsApp account could not be delivered and a website shared by the suspect was no longer operational.

The victim also claimed that based on the records of online transactions he made to the given account, he had transferred money 32 times amounting to RM163,000, he said, adding that the victim lodged a report at the Kampung Raja police station, in the Cameron Highlands yesterday.

-- BERNAMA