A gold dealer by the name Wan Zullnaidi recently shared on X (formerly Twitter) a scam that befell someone named Madi Rizal involving a gold transaction that was done over WhatsApp.
For the purpose of the story, let’s call the scammer ‘A’, and the agent ‘B’ (the agent will appear in the story later).
Through the screenshots, we can see that Madi was contacted by the alleged scammer, who was seeking to sell his gold pieces for cash.
Madi asks for a few details such as the weight of the gold pieces and where A is located, to which A responded with a photo of the gold, their total weight in grams, and the brand.
The process was going smoothly until A told Madi that he was in a rush to sell the gold as he needed the money to pay his staff’s salary.
Madi agreed but he asked if he could make his way to pick up the gold after Isya prayers, and A also agreed but still pushed Madi to rush as his treasurer apparently was closing the books for the day at 7:45pm.
Then, A asked Madi to meet him at Quayside Mall in Teluk Panglima Garang, Selangor. Madi said he was coming from Meru (a 40 minute drive to the mall).
A then quoted Madi for the gold according to the gold’s total weight, which came up to RM6,604.
The seller raises red flags
As Madi tries to confirm the meeting location, A suddenly tells him that he needed to leave the mall to deliver a sermon at a nearby mosque, and says that he will ask a “staff” member to meet Madi in his stead.
What’s even weirder, is that A told Madi not to tell his staff that it’s him selling the gold, as he feels “self-conscious” of the transaction (supposedly due to the gold’s sale is being used to pay his staff).
Through the WhatsApp messages Madi finally meets A’s supposed employee, B, and even shares a photo of him showing the gold pieces.
Madi then transfers the money to A, and A confirms he has received the money.
However, the final WhatsApp screenshot shows that something went wrong when A stops replying after confirming he had received the money Madi sent for the gold.
Both Madi and B realise they’ve been scammed
Everything in the story so far sounds like Madi and A made a successful transaction, but in reality, both Madi and B (A’s alleged staff) were scammed.
According to a theory posted in the comments section, B was allegedly a gold dealer.
Here is how the theory goes: A contacted Madi to sell his gold, but A told B that he wants to buy gold and told him that he will send someone (Madi) to pick it up. Madi meets B, sees the gold, and transfers the money to A.
A gets the money, B doesn’t get the payment, and Madi doesn’t get the gold and loses the money he just sent.
One user on X mentions that scammers tend to use the “rush” tactic, giving their victims no time to consider that the transaction might be a scam.
Scammers are always coming up with new and creative ways to trick people, but as long as we are vigilant and stay up to date with all the current tactics, we can do our best to avoid being robbed by con artists and fraudsters.
