IPOH, Jan 12 — A technician lost RM444,967 after falling victim to an online job scam in November last year.

Acting Perak police chief DCP Zulkafli Sariaat said that on Nov 21, the 42-year-old local man came across an online job advertisement on Facebook and was drawn to it by the commission offered.

The victim then communicated with a male suspect via the WhatsApp application.

Zulkafli said that the suspect instructed the victim to make advance payments for goods, initially small amounts that later escalated to tens of thousands of ringgit. In return, the suspect promised the victim a refund along with a commission ranging from 4 to 10 per cent of the payment made.

"The victim made several online transfers to 10 different bank accounts, totalling RM444,967. He realised he had been scammed when the promised commission payment never materialised,” Zulkafli said in a statement today.

The victim lodged a police report on Friday in Ipoh after realising he had been deceived.

Zulkafli urged the public to stay vigilant against the increasingly sophisticated and varied online fraud schemes, advising caution when considering job offers that require advance payments or seem too good to be true. — Bernama