Johor police chief M Kumar said the 64-year-old man made a police report last Thursday after realising he had been duped when he was unable to contact the syndicate.

Kumar said the victim saw a Facebook advertisement about the investment in December last year and clicked on the link provided for more information.

“He was then added to a WhatsApp group and given information on investing.

“The victim was also told that all investment matters will be fully managed by the company.

“He was promised a return of 5-12%,” he said in a statement today.

The victim followed the suspect’s instructions by downloading an application to register and monitor the status of his investment and profits, he said.

In February and March, the victim began investing by making online payments amounting to RM1,940,000 to bank accounts in Malaysia as directed, he said.

“The victim only realised he had been cheated when he failed to withdraw the profits as shown in the investment app.

“He was also told to make several additional payments, including taxes, to recover his invested capital. After that, the suspect became unreachable,” he said.

Meanwhile, in another case, a housewife lost RM690,000 in an online scam that promised lucrative returns.

Pahang police chief Yahaya Othman said the victim, 42, was attracted by an investment opportunity she saw in a WhatsApp group chat and registered on a system called “Ying Trade” in July.

She was given training by a person to buy shares on a link.

“From July 17 to Oct 14, the victim made 25 transactions to two bank accounts provided by that person. She then received returns of an estimated RM50,000 and reinvested.”

Yahya said the person later realised she had been cheated. He advised the public not to be deceived by schemes that offered lucrative returns in a short span of time.