Woman loses over RM132,000 in used car sale scam on Facebook

IPOH – A woman suffered a loss of RM132,860 when she tried to purchase a non-existent used car through Facebook on June 1.

Perak police chief Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said the victim had seen an advertisement for the sale of a used car on Facebook and proceeded to contact the owner of the Facebook account.

“The suspect then contacted the victim through WhatsApp and introduced himself as the seller of the car. He sent the victim a photograph of his identity card to reassure the victim,” he said in a statement here last night.

Yusri said the victim then made payment for the car through online bank transfers to the account number provided by the suspect and was tricked into not being able to cancel the purchase on the grounds that the insurance was registered in the victim’s name; if anything were to happen, the victim would be held accountable.

Yusri said the victim made a total of 25 payments into six bank accounts, involving a total of RM132,860 before she realised she had been cheated when she tried to borrow money from a friend, who duly alerted her.

“The victim’s father then took her to the police station to file a police report. The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code,” he added. – Bernama, June 8, 2023