Sarawak retiree loses RM914,000 to fake AI investment scam promising quick returns

MUKAH, July 1 — A 56-year-old government retiree lost more than RM914,000 after being lured into a bogus online investment scheme that promised lucrative returns through an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered trading system.

Mukah police chief DSP Muhamad Rizal Alias said police received a report from the victim at about 2.20pm yesterday.

He said preliminary investigations revealed that the victim came across an investment advertisement on Facebook under the name Arctic Tern Advisory on December 22, 2025, before contacting an individual identified as Kamil.

The victim was then added to a WhatsApp group managed by several individuals claiming to represent the company and was persuaded to invest through a platform known as Setia Capital Trading with an initial investment of RM300.

“The suspects claimed the investment relied on an AI-powered automated trading system capable of generating exceptionally high returns within a short period, convincing the victim to continue investing,” he said in a statement today.

To reinforce the deception, the suspects allegedly showed the victim a trading account reflecting profits that had purportedly grown to RM87,124 before demanding additional payments, including redemption fees, bank security charges and transaction limit upgrade fees, purportedly to facilitate the release of the returns.

Muhamad Rizal said the victim eventually made 88 transactions totalling RM914,209 to 32 different bank accounts involving six banking institutions between December 22, 2025 and March 6 this year.

He said the victim only realised he had been duped after repeated attempts to withdraw both his capital and the promised profits proved unsuccessful. 

The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating. — Bernama