Sibu Trader Loses Over RM79,000 To Online Prize Draw Scam

SIBU, Aug 15 (Bernama) -- A local trader lost over RM79,000 after being deceived by an offer of lucrative returns through an online prize draw scam earlier this month.

Sibu district police chief ACP Zulkipli Suhaili said the victim, a man in his 50s, was first deceived while watching a live broadcast on Facebook promoting a gift box draw on Aug 7.

The victim made a payment of RM499 to the provided account to participate in the activity, but did not win any prizes. After that, the victim received a call via the WhatsApp application from an international number.

"The caller introduced himself as Mr. Teng from Shanghai, China, claiming to represent a gold company that was about to open a branch in Malaysia and would be holding a prize draw in the form of gift boxes containing USD (US dollar) cash and the opportunity to become a business partner," he said in a statement today.

He said the victim agreed to buy 80 gift boxes and made payment to the account provided by the suspect.

On Aug 12, the victim received a call from a woman named Miss Lee, who informed him that the gift box had been opened and that the victim had supposedly won USD288,888.88 (RM1,218,677.74) in cash, which would be transferred to his account on the same day.

From Aug 7 to 13, the victim made 11 transactions totalling RM79,499 to two local accounts, but no money was received and the victim's WhatsApp messages were blocked.

“The victim became suspicious and filed a police report on Aug 14. Police confirmed they received the report," he said.

Zulkipli reminded the public to be cautious about participating in online prize draws whose authenticity cannot be verified to avoid becoming victims of fraud.

Any advice or further information can be obtained from the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) at 997 or the Facebook page @cybercrimealertrmp@jsjpdrm. Checking suspicious bank accounts and phone numbers can be done through the website http://ccid.rmp.gov.my/semakmule/.

-- BERNAMA