A bakery entrepreneur in Kota Syahbandar narrowly avoided losses of more than RM6,000 after falling victim to a scam involving individuals impersonating representatives of an educational institution.
The victim, Lim Min Chyh, 34, said the incident began on April 20 when one of his staff received an order for 15 boxes of croissant tarts worth RM570. He said the request initially appeared legitimate as the scammers provided official-looking documents, including quotations, invoices and letters claiming to be from a university.
“At first everything seemed normal. They requested quotations and proper documents like a standard official transaction. They even claimed to be from a university and provided documents that looked genuine,” he said during a press conference in Malacca.
However, suspicions arose when the scammers later instructed him to make an upfront payment of about RM6,000 to purchase “door gifts” from a third-party supplier, with a promise that the amount would be reimbursed together with the bakery order.
He said he grew suspicious after being asked to transfer money to a supplier introduced by the suspects.
“I checked the company details and found that while the business existed, the nature of its operations and address did not match what was claimed,” he said.
Lim added that verification with the university confirmed the documents were fake, prompting him to halt all preparations immediately and terminate the transaction.
He has since lodged a police report at the Tengkera Police Station, and authorities are investigating the case.
