Ipoh senior citizen loses nearly RM1m in fake stock investment scheme

IPOH, Jan 12 — An elderly man suffered a loss of RM974,000 after falling victim to a fraudulent online investment scheme recently.

Acting Perak police chief DCP Zulkafli Sariaat, in a statement today said the Ipoh district police received a report from the 67-year-old victim regarding the incident yesterday.

According to Zulkafli, the victim, while browsing Facebook on Dec 4, came across an advertisement for a stock investment promising a 20 per cent return within half an hour on a RM5,000 investment.

The victim clicked on a link provided by a female suspect, which led to a WhatsApp group (National Malaysian Finance Management Association) and was instructed to download the PGLO.PRO app.

“As a result, the victim made 16 online payments to three different bank accounts, totalling RM974,000. On Jan 11, 2025, the victim discovered through a Google search that the investment did not exist,” Zulkafli said.

He advised the public to carefully scrutinise any suspicious investment offers and avoid falling for schemes promising high returns, especially if the companies involved are not registered with the Securities Commission, Bank Negara, or the Companies Commission of Malaysia. — Bernama