MIRI – A housewife in Betong was cheated of RM116,000 after trusting an unknown individual who messaged her on WhatsApp about investing in gold.
The woman in her 30s has lodged a police report against a female Facebook user, whom she first chatted with on the social media platform before moving their conversations to WhatsApp.
Sarawak police chief Datuk Mohd Azman Ahmad Sapri said the Facebook chats were in May, in which the housewife’s new acquaintance told her about gold investments.
The acquaintance then began contacting her on WhatsApp on June 27 with promises to secure good pieces of gold jewellery from dealers and pawnshops.
“After a series of WhatsApp chats, the housewife made a series of 20 payments online to the contact.
“From July 1 to 8, the housewife (transferred) to him a sum of RM116,000,” Azman said.
On July 11, the housewife received a parcel at her home containing what appeared to be jewellery, but upon further inspection by a goldsmith, found that they were fake.
Her attempts to demand a refund from the WhatsApp contact failed, at which point she realised she had been scammed and went to police.
Police also received another report about a similar gold investment scam on July 23, involving a private school teacher in Sibu. – The Vibes, July 25, 2023
