Z
Zhen Ji
Guest
Friday December 24, 2010
Clerk falls prey to investment scam
A civil servant was tricked into taking part in an investment scam which caused her to be debt-ridden and poorer by RM43,000, Harian Metro reported.
The clerk, only known as Nora, 26, had secured a RM18,000 cooperative loan.
Soon after the loan approval, she met with an agent who offered her an investment scheme that would make investors eligible to secure personal loans.
During the meeting, Nora did not agree to join the investment scheme and her husband merely asked about the amount of loan they could apply for.
She said the man asked her to submit her pay slip and the co-operative deduction form before he could tell them the amount.
Three days later, she received a call from the cooperative saying that her loan had been approved.
She was shocked to find that RM33,000 had been deposited into her account when she had never signed any application form.
She called the man to get an explanation about the money and he told her that she should cash out the money to invest in a scheme which promised better returns.
The following day, the man asked her and her husband to go to a bank in Puchong to transfer the money to another account under a certain company.
The couple were told that he would deal with the cooperative and that there would be a RM200 deduction in Nora’s salary.
Two months later, she was shocked to find out that RM545 had been deducted from her monthly salary.
Realising that something was amiss, she enquired from the cooperative and was shocked when she was informed that she owed RM43,000 to be settled in 15 years.
After several attempts to contact the agent failed, the couple lodged a report at the Presinct 7 police station in Putrajaya.