JASIN, Oct 29 — A woman's dream of a lucrative return was shattered when she fell victim to an online investment scam. The former secretary with a private firm lost over RM80,000 from her Employees Provident Fund (EPF) savings.

According to Harian Metro, Jasin district police chief Deputy Superintendent Ahmad Jamil Radzi said since July, the 50-year-old victim had been lured into an investment scheme advertised on Facebook.

He said based on the report, the victim was enticed to join the investment scheme while browsing Facebook and she clicked on a link provided by the syndicate, which led her to a WhatsApp application.

The victim was asked to pay a registration fee of RM1,235 after an explanation was offered about the investment package.

"With that payment, the victim was offered an investment package and received an initial profit return of RM8,000, but it could not be withdrawn.

"Excited by the quick return, the victim decided to increase her investment for a larger profit,” he said in a statement today.

According to Ahmad Jamil, the investigation revealed that the victim withdrew savings from her EPF account since July and made several deposits into five different individual bank accounts.

"The total amount of money paid was RM82,175. However, the victim felt deceived when she was unable to withdraw the profits.

"In fact, she was instructed to make an additional payment of RM20,000, allegedly as a withdrawal tax.

"Following this, she filed a report at the Jasin Police Station, and the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for fraud,” he said.