Scammer Cheated RM4,500 With Stolen Photo

A scammer used a photo stolen from a second-hand car dealer and cheated a salesman's hard earned RM 4,500.

The scammer posted an advertisement selling a modified version of a Perodua Kelisa, which attracted the victim Lau Jian Fa, 29.

Lau saw the second-hand red Kelisa advertisement on Facebook on Tuesday night and due to the excellent modified looks, and the low price, he was persuaded to pay the full amount, even without seeing the car.

After the victim paid the full amount to the scammer, he was blocked by the scammer.

It was understood that the scammer used a photo of a modified Kelisa, downloaded from a second-hand dealer in Johor Bahru. The car was priced at RM 19,000, but the scammer was selling it for RM 4,500 at Facebook's market place, which caught the attention of the victim and contacted the scammer via Whatsapp.

During the process, the scammer asked the victim to pay the amount in two payments, a deposit of RM 500 and the remaining RM 4,000.

Selangor Youth League public complaints and service group director Li Wen Bin said, he received the complaint from the victim and immediately, called for a press conference to reveal the story.

Lau mentioned that there were two scammers, one plays the role of a salesperson and another is a boss. He said that when he first paid the RM 500, one of the scammer told him that the car had been purchased by a second-hand car dealer in Kelantan. Due to the long distance, the scammer diceded to sell it to him on the condition that it must be paid in full.

The victim suspected a scam during the negotiation, but the duo deceived the victim with their stories, one after another.

Lau mentioned that the scammer playing the boss role told him that he was selling reconditioned cars and he was only helping a friend to sell this Perodua Kelisa. After the victim transfered the deposit, Lau also received an electronic receipt with the address of the car dealer, which supposed to be located at the old bus station. However, there is no such car dealer after searching online.

The case has been reported to the police on Wednesday after Lau confirmed he was scammed. He had handed his identification information to the scammers and was worried that the scammers would use his information to commit another crime.

At the same time, Li urged the public to be cautious when buying any goods online. There are too many fake accounts on the internet to cheat money and there are many similar victims. Li also pointed out  that the risk of buying a car online is high.

Li pointed out that according to the scammer's bank account number provided by the victim, it was confirmed that there were similar cases filed under the police's Semak Tipu CCID mobile application. He urged the police to strictly investigate on online frauds and the public should also be vigilant.