A retired teacher’s attempt to buy harumanis mangoes online turned into a costly nightmare when she fell victim to a Facebook scam, resulting in a loss of more than RM67,000 from her bank account.
According to The Star, the 61-year-old woman from Wakaf Tengah, Kuala Terengganu, came across a Facebook post on May 20 advertising the sale of the seasonal mangoes.
Thinking it was a legitimate offer, she placed an order with the seller and received a “purchase confirmation link” through the platform.
Request to send an ID code
After clicking the link, she was instructed to send a system-generated ID code back to the supposed seller. Believing it to be part of the ordering process, she followed the instructions.
However, the next morning (May 21), the woman logged into her bank account and discovered multiple unauthorized transactions had occurred. In total, RM67,573.63 had been siphoned out of her account.
She immediately contacted her bank to freeze the account and prevent further losses.
Police investigating under fraud law
According to Sin Chew, Terengganu police confirmed in a statement that the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
The statement also highlighted that the incident serves as a reminder to the public not to trust unfamiliar links shared via social media, especially those involving payment or personal information.
Authorities urged Malaysians to be extra vigilant when shopping online and avoid clicking on suspicious links from unknown sources.
Scammers often disguise themselves as sellers of popular products to bait victims into giving away personal banking information,” police warned.
