Beware & Protect Yourself 08 (Feb 24 - Dec 25)

[winston]

RM1.7mil profit promise ends in loss

By IVAN LOH

IPOH: Believing that his “investments” in shares had earned him RM1.7mil, a factory owner ended up RM210,000 poorer instead.

Just wanting to be known as Chan, the 47-year-old said he came across a social media advertisement about investing in shares and clicked on the post.

He said the link led him to a WhatsApp chat channel where he started communicating with a woman who claimed to be named Linda.

“She offered me several company share schemes and I started one with RM10,000,” Chan said at a press conference held by Perak MCA public services and complaints bureau chief Charles Yuen here yesterday.

Chan said he did an online search of the firms and found that they were listed as private limited companies.

“As I was required to pay more to access the company profile, I decided to just invest in it,” he added.

Chan made about RM50,000 at the initial stage and decided to invest more.

“The app provided simple explanations on how to invest, which made it even more convincing,” he said.

In May, Chan was notified that his investments had returned a profit of RM1.7mil and that he could withdraw the money.

“To do so, I was required to pay commissions and some taxes. After paying about RM29,000, I was still unable to withdraw the money,” he said, adding that he lodged a police report on July 13.

Source: The Star

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/ ... ds-in-loss

[winston]

Man in 70s scammed out of $3.2mn in online romance scam by woman posing as 'neighbor'

The victim received a message in late April from a woman posing as his neighbor, who initially claimed that a water leak had occurred in his unit. 

Following an apology for the misdial, the two engaged in continuous communication, which culminated in the development of an online romance without any physical meetings.

In mid-May, the woman alleged that she had insider cryptocurrency tips from her job at the Singapore Exchange, using affectionate phrases like “You know I have fallen for you” to convince him to invest in various schemes.

Between May 23 and July 16, the victim transferred HK$3.27 million in 37 transactions to 34 bank accounts provided by the woman.

When ATM limits prevented further transactions, he attempted to withdraw HK$900,000 in person from the bank, prompting bank staff to alert the authorities. 

The scam resulted in a loss of HK$3.27 million and nearly HK$1 million in debt for the victim

Source: The Standard

https://www.thestandard.com.hk/hong-kon ... le/307471/

[winston]

Kuala T'ganu bank officer cheated of RM240,000 in vehicle purchase scam

The 52-year-old victim came across an advertisement for a used four-wheel-drive vehicle on Facebook on July 4.

Interested in the offer, the victim clicked on the link and began communicating with the purported seller via WhatsApp, he said.

The victim was told to provide a copy of his MyKad and make an advance payment to a representative of the suspect's company, supposedly based in Port Klang, Selangor.

"Between July 9 and 21, the victim made 40 payments to eight different accounts totalling RM241,700.

Source: The Star

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/ ... chase-scam

[winston]

2 Hong Kong teens among 80 conned over 4 weeks in compensated dating scams

Police say losses reached HK$3.7 million, including HK$5,500 paid by two boys to online ‘dates’ who never showed up

Two teenage schoolboys were among more than 80 Hongkongers who lost a combined HK$3.7 million (US$471,400) over four weeks in July, after they were deceived into making upfront payments for sex or companionship in a series of compensated dating scams.

The police force said the boys, aged 13 and 14, were duped into paying a total of HK$5,500 to meet “dates” they had contacted via Instagram or dating apps, but the encounters never materialised.

Police also revealed that nearly 20 per cent of the victims were under the age of 20. The force posted a public warning on its CyberDefender Facebook page on Monday, urging extra caution – particularly among students during the summer holidays – when meeting people online.

Source: SCMP

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law ... ting-scams

[behappyalways]

JB durian stall finds someone else's payment QR code pasted over their own, earnings lost as a result

https://mothership.sg/2025/08/jb-durian ... -a-result/

[winston]

Facebook ‘friend’ tricks senior into RM100k loss

KUALA TERENGGANU: An elderly man lost more than RM100,000 after falling prey to a foreign exchange (forex) scam.

Kuala Terengganu OCPD Asst Comm Azli Mohd Noor said the 77-year-old joined a forex scheme on May 28 after being coaxed by the sister of a woman he had befriended on Facebook.

In the first week, the victim made an initial investment of RM3,000 and was given a “receipt” as proof that the money had been deposited into his forex account.

“The suspect also sent him a screenshot showing the profit he had made. Excited, the victim continued to make additional investments to the tune of RM69,000.

“The victim tried to withdraw his profits but was instruc­ted to make another payment of RM35,844, claiming that the ­profits involved money laundering,” ACP Azli said in a statement yesterday, Bernama reported.

The victim, realising he had been deceived, lodged a police report.

Source: The Star

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/ ... m100k-loss

[behappyalways]

Meta Found Guilty Of Eavesdropping On Period-Tracker App Users: Jury
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/met ... users-jury

[behappyalways]

News | Uncle's Same "Money Begging" Trick Leads to Polarized Netizens' Responses

动新闻｜Uncle同一招数“讨钱” 网民回响两极化

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IcDWiZpu868

[behappyalways]

ChatGPT Gave Suicide Instructions, Drug And Alcohol Guidance, To Fake 13 Year Old User
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/chatg ... r-old-user