A factory clerk who wanted to make a kill from the sale of face masks which were now in demand, became RM54,000 poorer when she ended up being cheated.

Alor Gajah District Police Chief Superintendent Arshad Abu said in the March 15 incident, the 37-year-old woman had ordered 3,364 boxes of face masks from a person she had known only through WhatsApp.

“The suspect who is believed to be a woman then asked the victim to make payments through another person's account. The victim agreed and made the transaction in stages on March 16 and 17.

“Once the payment has been made, the victim was promised the shipment of the masks using a lorry on March 17.

"However, the victim did not receive any delivery at the promised time before she realized she had been cheated when the seller failed to be contacted," he said in a statement here Tuesday.

He said the victim had lodged a police report and the case was being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for fraud.

Superintendent Arshad said police were looking for the suspect by the phone number and the account used in the transaction.

He advised the public to be wary of those who try to take advantage of the spike in demand for certain products as the country faces the COVID-19 outbreak.