Malaysian company manager loses $173K in gold investment scam

Pahang police chief Yahaya Othman said the 34-year-old victim was contacted in February by a woman identifying herself as "Celeste Yee" on Facebook, who lured him into investing through an online trading platform, The Star reported.

Gold bars. Illustration from Pixabay

The man first invested RM5,000 and received a RM5,700 return, which prompted him to increase his investments.

Between Feb. 12 and March 16, he transferred funds in 37 transactions to five different bank accounts but was ultimately unable to withdraw either his capital or the promised earnings.

After realizing he had been defrauded, he reported the incident to the police. His losses included his personal savings, a loan from his mother, and a bank loan, according to Yahaya.

Authorities have warned the public to be wary of investment schemes that promise unusually high returns and advised investors to verify a company's legitimacy before committing funds.

In a similar case in March, a Singaporean woman lost her life savings of S$1.2 million (US$900,900) to scammers posing as officers from the police’s Anti-Scam Center (ASC) over two months, as reported by The Straits Times.