MIRI, July 16 — A 43-year-old woman lost RM1,389,132 after falling victim to an elaborate scam that began with an online cake advertisement on social media.

Miri police chief ACP Mohd Farhan Lee Abdullah said the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) received a report on Wednesday on unauthorised withdrawals from the victim’s company bank accounts.

The victim shared that after browsing the menu, she had clicked on a link provided in the advertisement to place an order.

This caused her mobile phone screen to go blank and become unusable.

After checking with the bank at around 10am on Wednesday, she discovered that 19 unauthorised fund transfers had been made from two of her company bank accounts to 15 different bank accounts the previous day, resulting in losses totalling RM1,389,132.

The case is being investigated under Section 4(1) of the Computer Crimes Act 1997 for unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate commission of further offence, which carries a maximum fine of RM150,000, imprisonment of up to 10 years, or both upon conviction.

Police advised the public to remain vigilant against phishing scams, particularly fake links circulated through social media, as clicking such links may result in malicious applications being installed or sensitive banking information being compromised.

Members of the public can immediately contact the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) by dialling 997 if they have just transferred money to a suspected mule account, as well as to verify suspicious bank accounts and phone numbers through the Semak Mule platform before making any financial transactions. — The Borneo Post