MIRI: A female employee found herself RM37,400 poorer after she was blinded by promises of lucrative commissions in an online job scam.
Miri OCPD ACP Alexson Naga Chabu said that the victim, who is in her 40s, lodged a report last Friday (March 15) for further investigation under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
He shared that the victim was added to a WhatsApp group named ‘F35C19 Booking Promotion’ under the impression of a potential part-time online job.
To earn the commission, she was instructed to execute a simple task of liking and following the ‘booking.com’ page provided by the suspect.
“Following that, the woman engaged in further communication with the suspect via Telegram.
“Before commencing the task, the victim was asked to make an upfront payment.
“The suspect also assured her that the money would be doubled upon completion,” he said.
Alexson added that the victim transferred a sum of RM37,400 via five transactions into a third-party bank account provided.
It was only when the suspect demanded more money without delivering the promised commission that the victim realised she had been cheated.
In light of this incident, Alexson urged the public to exercise caution when considering online job offers, particularly those from social media platforms, which promises immediate and substantial profits.
