PETALING JAYA: Almost 19,000 “investors” lost close to RM2bil in the last four years to fraudulent schemes – a trend that is showing no signs of abating, according to the police.

This comes despite repeated reminders from the authorities to stay vigilant against investment offers advertised on social media and other platforms that appear to be operated by legitimate companies but are actually the work of dishonest fraudsters.

Such “lucrative” financial plans promising exceedingly high returns have since 2021 swallowed up over RM1.8bil of the people’s hard-earned money or careful savings as unsuspecting victims fell prey to non-existent investment schemes.

A total of 18,767 victims of various ages have been duped by such scams in the last four years, indicating an upward trend that does not seem to recede anytime soon, say the police.

Bukit Aman statistics show that in 2021, 3,195 cases were recorded involving RM245.05mil in losses, followed by 3,266 cases in 2022 (RM219.83mil), and in 2023, 5,386 cases (RM472.15mil).

“Things got really alarming last year when we saw the most losses from investment scams totalling RM846.62mil from 6,337 cases,” Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf (pic) said in an interview.

“As of Jan 20, we already recorded 492 cases with RM83.09mil in losses.

“So since 2021, RM1.86bil has been lost to investment scams,” the Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director added.

He pointed out that to entice people to invest in their illicit schemes, syndicates would offer higher and faster returns than those given by regular investments.

“They would offer up to 300% returns or more within an unrealistic period of an hour, three hours, a week and a month.

“The scammers would use various applications including Telegram, WhatsApp and Facebook to advertise their non-existent schemes and communicate with the victims.

“They would even set up a trading app to show a bogus graph of an investment to convince victims,” he said.

In some cases, victims would initially see some returns on the bogus graphs as they increased their investments.

“Eventually, they would not see any actual returns on their investments and could no longer reach their contact person or investment ‘guru’,” he said.

Among the recent victims was a 58-year-old company director who was cheated of RM5.8mil after he joined an investment scheme advertised on Facebook in August last year, Comm Ramli cited as an example.

“After contacting the number listed, the victim was added to a WhatsApp group with a seemingly legitimate name, ‘Davidson Kempner Capital Management’.

“He was also guided by a so-called trading guru and downloaded an app to track his investment performance.

“He began investing in stages from September until November last year and ended up transferring RM5.8mil to an account given by the syndicate.

“Until today, he has not seen a single sen of returns to his investments,” he said.

Comm Ramli said scammers would often use names similar to legitimate funds such as the case with the “Pantheon Ventures” investment scam.

“Investigation showed that an investment company named Pantheon Ventures has indeed existed in the United Kingdom since 1982.

“However, that company has no connections with the scam syndicate,” he said.

The syndicate used Facebook and WhatsApp to advertise and communicate with the victims.

“The advertisements were put up on Facebook, using the algorithm system to reach optimal results and viewership by social media users.

“They offered returns between six and 400% a day depending on the investment packages.

“We opened 66 investigation papers on the investment scam with losses exceeding RM32mil last year,” he revealed.

Comm Ramli said the department has investigated 836 companies for their involvement in investment scams last year.

“Most of these companies were set up as shell companies bearing names that looked quite similar to those of legitimate investment schemes.

“They would even set up mule companies to enable easier transaction of funds derived from the victims.”

The police, Comm Ramli said, will step up their efforts and collaboration with the Securities Commission to curb the illegal practice.

Of the total 18,676 individuals duped since 2021, most of them were from the 31-40 age group, consisting of 4,649 victims, Comm Ramli said.

The other top age groups are 41-50 (3,947 victims), 21-30 (3,875), and 51-60 (3,273).

“Those aged above 60 also represent a substantial number with 2,330 victims while the least number comprises those aged 15-20,” he noted.

Since intensifying its enforcement efforts in 2021, the CCID has arrested 11,493 suspects, Comm Ramli revealed.

“Most of those nabbed were locals and have been successfully prosecuted.”

He also said that of the 6,337 cases recorded last year, Telegram was the most used by scammers to bait potential victims.

“Telegram was used in 31% of the total cases, followed by Facebook (26%), WhatsApp (25%), face-to-face meetings (7%), and Instagram (7%).

“Always remember, if an investment scheme is offered on social media or other online apps, it is a scam,” he cautioned.

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This article first appeared on The Star.