Clerk loses over RM850,000 in used car sale scam

SIBU: A clerk for a private company here lost more than RM850,000 in an online used car scam.

Sibu police chief ACP Zulkipli Suhaili said the victim in her 50s came across an advertisement on a Facebook page called Castello Motor Trading PTD LTE Singapore, which claimed to sell used cars from Singapore.

“She started to deal with the suspect through WhatsApp starting mid-July after she saw the advertisement. She was interested in buying a Lexus RX300, which was advertised at a price of RM37,500, with an instalment repayment of RM625 per month for a period of five years,” Zulkipli said in a statement.

He said from July 14 to Aug 8, the victim transferred RM850,901 in 170 transactions to 14 bank accounts purportedly for Road Transport Department matters, approval permit (AP), customs tax, shipping costs, and so on.

He said the victim was also threatened with legal action for making an illegal used car purchase.

“The money used by the victim to pay for the car was from her life savings. She also borrowed from her friends and obtained a loan from a licensed moneylender,” he said.

Zulkipli added the victim only lodged a police report on Nov 15.

He advised members of the public to verify advertisements for used cars online before making any payments to avoid being scammed.

He also said the public should be careful when coming across promotions or offers that sound too good to be true.

“Do check the current selling price in the market first or go to the car company and discuss it directly with the company owner or authorised agents.

“There are many non-existent car sale advertisements offering low or special prices on social media sites,” he said.

For advice or enquiries related to commercial crimes, contact the CCID Scam Response Centre on 03-26101559 or 03-26101599.

Verification of suspicious bank accounts and phone numbers can also be done via http://ccid. rmp.gov.my/semakmule/.

She started to deal with the suspect through WhatsApp starting mid-July after she saw the advertisement.

ACP Zulkipli Suhaili