Malaysian Insurance Agent Borrows Money to Invest but Falls Prey on a Scam

A Malaysian insurance agent lost RM1.58 million in an investment scam, which was reportedly related to gambling activities that took place in Singapore last year.

According to Malaysian police, the 58-year-old victim learned about an investment opportunity through WhatsApp in November last year.

After registering a trading account, someone claiming to be a customer service staff soon came to contact her and guided her to deposit and start investing.

From the end of December last year to February this year, this victim made 27 transfers to the scammers, and most of the money she transferred came from bank loans, credit cards, and money borrowed from friends. Moreover, the six bank accounts that received the victim's money were even registered under the names of six different companies.

Police said that when the victim did not get her investment return as promised, but instead asked by the scammers to pay more money, she realized that she had been scammed.

Additionally, police have warned people to be on the lookout for videos that use deepfake technology to promote investment schemes by posing as public figures. In these videos, the scammers claimed that investors only needed to pay RM1,200 in principal to earn RM100,000 in profit, and even falsely claimed that it was an investment scheme approved by the Malaysian government.