THREE men have become victims of the so-called Skim Bantuan Khas Covid-19, believed to be the latest method of online or digital scam.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Azmi Abu Kassim said the victims, ages 26 to 48, received an SMS message offering them a special assistance of RM500 to be credited into their bank accounts after filling their personal details through the link given.

“However, having done that, they found reduced balances in their respective bank accounts, with the losses totalling RM4,550,” he said in a statement today.

He added that Bukit Aman Commercial CID received a report each from the three victims on the incidents that happened between July 28 and 30, with the cases being investigated under section 420 of the penal code for cheating.

Azmi said the Health Ministry also said that it had never sent any such message.

“Hence, the public is advised to check the MySejahtera Twitter page for confirmation on the aid scheme, or to check directly with the ministry or agency concerned.

“To avoid being cheated, the public is also advised not to upload anything of which its authenticity has not been verified and never to divulge personal details to a third party,” Azmi said.

Meanwhile, in Petaling Jaya, a female accounts executive reportedly lost RM428,000 after falling for a love scam, in which the trickster said he was a petroleum engineer and owner of a company in Singapore.

Petaling Jaya police chief Mohamad Fakhrudin Abdul Hamid said the 41-year-old victim got to know the suspect in August 2021 via Facebook before continuing to communicate with him through WhatsApp with the suspect using an international phone number.

“Last October, the victim was duped into believing that the suspect’s company was having financial problems before transferring RM5,000 into a bank account believed to belong to the suspect’s lawyer.

“Throughout the relationship, the victim made 47 transactions to four different bank accounts and then realised that she had been cheated after telling her family about the matter. The victim lodged a police report yesterday,” he said in a statement today. – Bernama, August 2, 2022.