(Muar, 1st) — A 56-year-old retired civil servant fell for an online investment scheme that claimed to use artificial intelligence for high returns, eventually falling into a scam by a fraud syndicate and losing a total of RM914,209.
Muar District Police Chief Superintendent Mohamad Riza Alias said that the police received the victim's report at 2:20 pm yesterday.
He said initial investigations showed that on December 22, 2025, the victim saw an investment advertisement on Facebook by a company named Arctic Tern Advisory and became interested.
"The victim subsequently contacted a man who identified himself as 'Kamil' and was later added to a WhatsApp group, which included several individuals claiming to be representatives of the investment company."
"The victim was then persuaded to join an investment platform called Setia Capital Trading, starting with an initial investment of RM300."
He said the suspect claimed the investment scheme was operated by an automated artificial intelligence system and could yield high returns in a short period.
To win the victim's trust, the suspect even displayed supposedly growing investment returns, with the amount once reaching as high as RM87,124.
However, when the victim was ready to withdraw his profits, he was asked to pay various fees, including redemption fees, bank security guarantee fees, transaction limit increase fees, and other charges.
"The suspect assured that all paid fees would be refunded to the victim together with the investment profits."
Mohamad Riza stated that the victim believed this to be true and, between December 22, 2025 and March 6, 2026, made a total of 88 transfers to 32 different individuals’ bank accounts spanning six banks.
"All these transactions caused a total loss of RM914,209."
"When the victim failed to receive any investment returns or principal, he finally realized he had been duped."
He said the police are currently investigating this case under Section 420 of the Penal Code (Cheating).
He also reminded the public not to easily trust investment schemes with high returns advertised on social media. It is vital to verify the legitimacy of a company before investing.
The public may check the legitimacy of investment companies via the Bank Negara Malaysia official website or BNM Telelink hotline 1-300-88-5465, or through the Securities Commission’s official website and hotline 03-6204 8999.
He said initial investigations showed that on December 22, 2025, the victim saw an investment advertisement on Facebook by a company named Arctic Tern Advisory and became interested.
"The victim subsequently contacted a man who identified himself as 'Kamil' and was later added to a WhatsApp group, which included several individuals claiming to be representatives of the investment company."
"The victim was then persuaded to join an investment platform called Setia Capital Trading, starting with an initial investment of RM300."
He said the suspect claimed the investment scheme was operated by an automated artificial intelligence system and could yield high returns in a short period.
To win the victim's trust, the suspect even displayed supposedly growing investment returns, with the amount once reaching as high as RM87,124.
However, when the victim was ready to withdraw his profits, he was asked to pay various fees, including redemption fees, bank security guarantee fees, transaction limit increase fees, and other charges.
"The suspect assured that all paid fees would be refunded to the victim together with the investment profits."
Mohamad Riza stated that the victim believed this to be true and, between December 22, 2025 and March 6, 2026, made a total of 88 transfers to 32 different individuals’ bank accounts spanning six banks.
"All these transactions caused a total loss of RM914,209."
"When the victim failed to receive any investment returns or principal, he finally realized he had been duped."
He said the police are currently investigating this case under Section 420 of the Penal Code (Cheating).
He also reminded the public not to easily trust investment schemes with high returns advertised on social media. It is vital to verify the legitimacy of a company before investing.
The public may check the legitimacy of investment companies via the Bank Negara Malaysia official website or BNM Telelink hotline 1-300-88-5465, or through the Securities Commission’s official website and hotline 03-6204 8999.