A woman from Kelantan is one of the latest victims of an online loan scam syndicate operating via Facebook
According to Harian Metro, the victim is a trader in her 30s. The incident occurred in October, after she saw an online financial loan advertisement on a social media platform.
Kelantan Commercial CID chief Supt Ahmad Azizul Mohamed told the Malay daily, “The victim was interested in the offer and contacted the individual who was disguised as a representative of the loan company.”
“After some discussion, the victim said that she wanted to make a loan of RM50,000 with a repayment RM500 each month for 10 years,” he added.
Image via South China Morning Post
The victim made 40 bank transactions before realising that she was conned
New Straits Times reported that when she agreed, she was asked to send her picture, bank statement, and RM300 as a down payment to process the loan.
He said the victim transferred the payment to an account belonging to the suspect on Oct 27, but on the same day, he demanded another RM1,010 to be sent to another account of a different person.
Since then, Azizul said the victim was asked to make several payments to enable the loan to be approved.
“Until 30 November, the victim made 40 transactions to 15 bank accounts owned by different holders. The transactions amounted to RM43,900. She only realised she was cheated after she wanted to borrow RM8,000 from her relative to pay the suspect again,” he added.
Image via New Straits Times
The victim filed a police report and the case is now being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code
Azizul also noted that online loan fraud is one of the most frequently reported cybercrimes. He urged the public to only make money loans with authorised banking and financial institutions.