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Trading ‘guru’ falls victim to RM3mil in cryptocurrency scam
KUALA LUMPUR: A cryptocurrency scam left a 53-year-old man penniless of about RM3 million after he was duped by a so-called trading “guru”.
According to the Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID), the victim, 53, who works at an oil and gas company, responded to an advert on social media in December.
He was then introduced to a cryptocurrency investment scheme and opened an account on an exchange purportedly based in the United States, CCID Comm director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said at a press conference here on Friday (June 21).
“He started with a deposit of US$1,500 (RM7,068) and was asked to increase his contribution to US$200,000 (RM942,400) to enable trading.
“At the end of April he tried to cash out his earnings but was prevented from doing so with the excuse that he had been upgraded to ‘VIP Bronze User’ and was asked to pay more upgrade fees,” he said.
The victim eventually became suspicious after being told that his account was being investigated by US authorities for money laundering activity when he attempted to make a withdrawal again.
“Investigations showed that the complainant had made transactions in 18 bank accounts which are believed to be mule accounts,” Comm Ramli said.
Police believe the victim transferred more than RM3mill in total to the scammers.
The case is being investigated for fraud pursuant to article 420 of the penal code.