Cleaning Service Provider Wipes Out RM12,000 From Homestay Owner's Account
The floral decorator chanced upon the cleaning service advertisement, promising a rate of RM30 for two hours for the service, on Facebook.
A 46-year-old floral decorator was recently scammed out of a whopping RM12,000 when she engaged with a cleaning service advertisement on Facebook
According to New Straits Times, S Sree Priya told reporters that she saw the advertisement promoting a rate of RM30 for two hours of cleaning, and decided to hire the service to clean her Johor Bahru homestay property.
Upon reaching out to the contact person, identified as Jason, on 3 December, Sree was instructed to visit the company's website and download an application for verification purposes.
She then proceeded to follow his instructions, filling out her personal information and paying a RM10 deposit that would purportedly entitle her to the special rate that was advertised.
However, things started to go awry when she received a call from the bank at 2.10am
Feeling suspicious of the call, she did not answer it. But it prompted the 46-year-old to check her bank account through a banking application, only to find out she had been blocked from using it.
"I quickly rang the bank hotline. I was then told that I had performed four transactions, [amounting to] RM2,999 each from 8.32am to 11.07pm," Sree said.
The floral decorator began to recall all the suspicious activities that had occurred on her phone ever since she downloaded the cleaning service application.
It all started when the victim tried to pay the RM10 deposit and then was suddenly logged out of the cleaning service's platform.
Her WhatsApp application also began to display suspicious activity.
"The names of all my contacts on WhatsApp had disappeared, with only their profile pictures left. My family had told me not to worry about it as my phone was probably resetting itself, hence, I didn't bother to check further," she said.
The victim then lodged a police report at the Kluang police station, where the case will be investigated under Section 4(1) of the Computer Crimes Act.
The 46-year-old victim (right) showing reporters the police report she filed against the scam operation.
Image via Mohamad Fahd Rahmat/New Straits Times
Kluang police district chief ACP Bahrin Mohd Noh has urged the public to be cautious when engaging with online advertisements, especially when they appear to be too good to be true
"There are many offers on social media that offer ridiculous prices. Please ensure that any app you download comes from legitimate sources such as, via the Google Play Store or Apple Store," he said.
In July, a woman in Melaka fell victim to a similar cleaning service scam:
Scam operations come in all forms:
Here are some red flags to look out for the next time you receive suspicious calls and text messages, or encounter misleading information:
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