TECHNICIAN LOSES OVER RM600,000 IN INVESTMENT SCAM

GEORGE TOWN, Nov 18 (Bernama) -- A technician lost more than RM600,000 to an online investment scam known as Ethereal Capital in September.

Penang police chief Datuk Azizee Ismail said the 57-year-old victim lodged a report with the Commercial Crime Investigation Division of the Seberang Perai Utara district police headquarters yesterday.

In his report, the victim claimed he had come across a stock investment advertisement on Facebook in early September that promised high returns. He later contacted a woman via WhatsApp before being added to a WhatsApp group promoting the scheme.

“The victim was promised returns of between 20 and 30 per cent within one to eight days based on the invested capital.

“Drawn by the offer, the victim was instructed to download the Ethereal Capital application for membership registration and investment purposes,” he said in a statement today.

Azizee said on Sept 5 that the victim made his first payment of RM300 into a bank account belonging to an individual and received a purported profit of RM32,200 on the same day.

The victim later increased his investment by another RM200,000 and was informed by the suspect that his profit had allegedly reached RM700,000.

“Between Sept 5 and Nov 11, 2025, the victim made 62 transactions into 36 different bank accounts, totalling RM602,051.56,” he said.

The victim realised he had been scammed when he attempted to withdraw the ‘profit’, but the suspect demanded that he pay taxes and processing fees first.

The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

-- BERNAMA