Man loses over RM12mil in suspected crypto theft

A man lost about RM12.47 million after his crypto assets were believed to have been stolen through unauthorised access to his digital wallet.

Perak police chief Alwi Zainal Abidin said the 38-year-old victim realised this yesterday afternoon while he was in Teluk Intan.

He said the victim realised that a sum of his crypto assets had been transferred out of his digital wallet without his knowledge or consent.

“Preliminary investigation found that the transaction involved the transfer of crypto assets through a blockchain network.

“Police are conducting further investigations to identify those involved and tracking the flow of transactions with assistance from the Bukit Aman commercial crime investigation department’s crypto unit,” he said in a statement today.

The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code, which provides for imprisonment of between one and 10 years, whipping and a fine upon conviction.

Alwi advised the public to be careful about phishing and online scams, avoid clicking on suspicious links, always monitor their digital wallet transactions, act immediately if they suspect their accounts have been hacked and strengthen their digital security measures.