SIBU: A local man in his 50s lost RM17,900 after falling victim to a non-existent online car sale scam recently.
Sibu district police chief, ACP Zulkipli Suhaili in a statement yesterday said that the victim was attracted by a second-hand car sale advertisement from Pulau Pinang on Facebook on Jan 12
“The victim is interested in buying a Mercedes Benz type car at an attractive price offered, namely at RM33,000 then dealt with the car dealer through the WhatsApp application,” he said.
Zulkipli said that the victim was asked to make three payment transactions to a local bank account with a total of RM17,998.99 for various purposes such as payment for the installation fee and Puspakom matters.
“On Jan 13, the victim arrived at Bayan Lepas Penang airport to manage the car purchasing matters but the victim later found that his phone number had been blocked from contacting the car seller and then he made a police report on the same day,” he said.
Zulkipli advised the public to take precautionary measures before making any vehicle purchase online to avoid becoming a fraud victim.
“It is better to do a survey and check the current selling price in the market first or go directly to the car sales company store to see the car, in addition to talking to the company owner or an authorised agent.
“Don’t easily believe the car sales ads that offer cheap prices or special prices whose publications/appearances are increasing day by day on social media,” he said.
Any advice and questions related to a commercial crime can be referred to the CCID Scam Response Centre at 03-26101559 or 03-26101599 follow Facebook @CyberCrimeAlertRMP @JSJKPDRM.
