Three applying for business loans lose nearly double to scammers

PORT DICKSON: A 28-year-old housewife who applied for a RM 30,000 loan to start a business lost almost double the amount to a fraudster.

Port Dickson OCPD Supt Aidi Sham Mohamed said the victim decided to apply for a loan on April 27 after coming across an ad on Facebook.

“She started communicating with a man who claimed to be from a licensed money-lending company.

"The man told her she had to make payments before her loan could be approved. This included (a fee) to process her application, insurance and legal costs, and a guarantee," he said.

The victim then gradually transferred money to six different accounts, a total of almost RM 58,000.

Supt Aidi Sham said the housewife was one of three victims who were betrayed after seeing similar advertisements here late last month. The second is a 38-year-old man who wanted to apply for a RM 30,000 loan to expand his grocery business.

“He was in contact with four suspects who claimed to be bank agents. The victim was also asked to deposit into three bank accounts totaling almost RM 12,000, ”he said.

The third victim is a 34-year-old hotel worker who applied for a personal loan of RM 10,000.

The victim also deposited nearly RM 1,900 in two accounts, allegedly due to special charges, before his loan application could be processed.

"All three found they had been defrauded after the suspects kept telling them to deposit more money," he said.

Cases are being investigated for fraud under Section 420 of the Criminal Code, which provides for up to 10 years' imprisonment, flogging and fines if convicted

Supt Aidi Sham advised those trying to apply for credit to be vigilant and check the status of bank accounts at ccid.rmp.gov.my/semakmule/ to see if they were being used for other criminal activities.

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https://businessservicesnews.ca/three-applying-for-business-loans-lose-nearly-double-to-scammers/