Johor police chief M Kumar said police received a report on the scam from the 62-year-old man yesterday.

He said the man received an offer to invest in a stock trading scheme from an unknown individual via a WhatsApp message.

After he was added to a group on the app, the victim was given a website link to monitor profits and manage the investment.

“The victim was drawn to the scheme after being promised returns of up to US$8 million (RM35 million) and subsequently made four fund transfers to four local bank accounts, totalling RM2.336 million, between Nov 27 last year and March 4.

“The victim realised he had been scammed when he was unable to withdraw the supposed profits and was pressured by the suspect to make additional payments for the withdrawal process,” Bernama quoted him as saying.