Scam Again - Malaysian Greedy

In just three months, a businesswoman was fleeced of her entire investment in what was supposed to be a lucrative forex scheme. This is the latest case, following reports of another forex scam which fleeced investors of over RM100,000 in Miri, Sarawak in May this year.

From August to November last year, Lee had participated in the scheme at the advice of a family friend and initially handed over RM30,000, The Sun Daily reports. She recalled how she could only trade 70% of her investment with the rest 'locked' and she had initially followed the advice of her agent friend using an app called MetaTrader4 or by a "robot" system for automated trading.

"I didn't lodge a report earlier as I was too afraid and furthermore, the agent who introduced me to the scheme is a personal family friend. "He promised me lucrative returns and he was very persuasive so I trusted him completely. By September, I had lost RM20,000," the 31-year old told a press conference organized by Gerakan Public Services and Complaints Bureau chief Ben Liew in Petaling Jaya yesterday.

Despite suffering losses, her agent friend persuaded her to deposit another RM25,000 by promising to recoup her losses for her but by December, Lee came to the realization that she will never see the money she invested in the scheme again.

Gerakan's Liew said that these scammers would try to 'sell' the attractive lifestyle that came with investing in the scheme by conducting live trading sessions at expensive restaurants, hotels and cafes and project a luxurious lifestyle on social media.The forex scammers currently operating in Malaysia are also targeting victims in neighbouring countries with victims from Brunei reportedly falling for their scams in May this year.

Selangor Commercial Crime Investigation Department Chief ACP Mohd Sakri Ariffin said the initial investigation has found that Bruneians had invested in the scheme via www.my.moorescapital.com and www.nexusforex.com, Brunei Times reports.

“As of now, we only have information from the local (Malaysian) victim who reported about this crime and we are asking others who fell victim to this case to come forward and assist us in our investigation.

“Sometimes they (investors) do not even realise they are being cheated as scammers usually continue to give excuses of having ‘delays’ in making payments or bonuses to their investors,” he warned.

ACP Mohd Sakri said Malaysia’s Anti-Money Laundering Section is also involved in the investigations to determine the trail of the scammed money.

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) keeps an updated watch list of companies it identifies as conducting illegal financial activities in Malaysia which you can read here.

According to BNM, these companies and websites are neither authorised nor approved under the relevant laws and regulations administered by BNM and the public is advised not to make any deposit or investment with individuals and entities that are not regulated under the relevant laws and should conduct the necessary checks with the relevant authorities if there are doubts regarding any schemes offered.