US-based
'buy-e-barrel' scheme ends abruptly; securities watchdog issues
alert over more than 50 websites
Apr 22,
2007
PENANG - THE Malaysian government is considering cracking down on
online scams, after thousands of Malaysians were believed to have
lost several million ringgit in an 'investment' scheme known as
buy-e-barrel.
There is no short cut to wealth, not even via the Internet, Deputy
Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said, urging the public not to put
their earnings and savings in cyber get-rich-quick schemes.
The Star newspaper reported yesterday that buy-e-barrel investors
have been unable to log on to their online accounts over the past
two weeks.
An investor, who declined to be named, said he managed to 'escape'
before the United States-based scheme was terminated
abruptly.
'I made a few thousand ringgit from the scheme, which offered daily
interest of between 2 per cent and 3 per cent for an investment of
between US$100 (S$150) and US$2,000,' he said.
The scheme offers online investors generous payouts within a short
time by claiming to be able to grow their money through
international oil and currency trading investments worldwide.
To join the scheme, investors deposit their money in a MayBank
account set up by the company. They then send an SMS to the company
for their accounts to be activated.
The investor said he believed that many of those who lost their
money were civil servants, adding that they took part in the scheme
when the deposits had grown to a sizeable amount.
George Town senior police officer Azam Abd Hamid said the police
were aware of such a scheme but had yet to receive any report from
those who had lost money.
He advised victims to lodge police reports if they have been
cheated so that the case could be investigated.
The Securities Commission (SC) has issued an alert over more than
50 websites which promise quick returns with minimum investments
and urged the public not to invest in them.
'These websites are not authorised or approved under the country's
securities laws to deal in securities or whatever investments,' Mr
Azam said.
A check by The Star found that buy-e-barrel was among the websites
on the SC list.
The commission recently froze two bank accounts with RM1.6 million
(S$706,000) in them and closed two websites said to be connected to
a global Internet investment scam run by Cambridge Capital
Trading.
Last week, the National Fatwa Council passed a fatwa forbidding
Muslims from investing in shares over the Internet.
It said that such Internet schemes, which pay interest and
guarantee a steady profit, are banned under syariah law.
Datuk Seri Najib has likened the online scams to those that took
place some years ago.
He cited a case in 1992, when Osman Hamzah, a director and
shareholder of Pestama Bhd, operated an illegal investment scheme
that caused many people to lose money.