Always be cautious of who you talk to on social media. Not everything we see online is the truth.

Unfortunately, a female student from Miri had to learn it the hard way. The student recently lodged a police report, claiming that she had been cheated out of RM8,380 by a Facebook ‘friend’ of hers.

According to The Star, the student who lives in Permyjaya housing estate reported that she was convinced by this Facebook friend of hers into making eight donations through bank payments since 8 November. These payments were supposedly directed towards a company that was carrying out pet-welfare projects.

The Facebook friend reached out to her for donations to contribute to the pet-welfare project. The student mentioned that she had made eight separate donations which totalled up to RM8,380 transferred to the bank account number which was provided by her friend.

The student only realised later on that she had been cheated and decided to lodge a police report.

Miri OCPD Asst Comm Lim Meng Seah confirmed a police investigation has been launched. The case is being probed under Section 420 of the Penal Code as it is a case of cheating.

“The modus operandi is that the victim is lured into donating money to a so-called pet-charity project that is non-existent,” he said in his latest updates to reporters.

In any case, if you’re suspicious of something and you have the bank account number or phone number, you can check if it belongs to a scammer using the Semak Mule app here.

From this incident, please be sure to always verify information online and beware of catfishes. Do not trust everything you see online.

Also Read: Scammer Pretends To Be Courier Service, M’sian Loses RM2.5 Million Over Phone Call