KUALA LUMPUR: The man who tirelessly calls out fraudsters received a scam call himself one morning from a so-called police officer.
Datuk Seri Michael Chong said the caller tried to get him to make a “donation” to the Selangor Police Day celebration.
The head of the MCA Public Services and Complaints Department said he woke up on Wednesday morning to find a voice message on his mobile phone.
“It came from a man who claimed to be a policeman from the Selangor police headquarters, asking me to call him back, which I did.
“He identified himself as Asst Comm Zamri and asked for a donation for the event.
“He sounded like a policeman so I obliged and told him I would make a RM1,000 donation as a member of Rela Bersekutu and asked him for all the relevant details.
“The man then sent over a letter with the police emblem seeking funds for the 216th Police Day celebration there,” Chong told a press conference here yesterday.
Also at the press conference were Kelab Rela Kehormat/Bersekutu Wilayah Persekutuan chairman Datuk Seri KK Chai and treasurer Serena How.
The club consists of honorary Rela members and their associates of the Federal Territories.
Chong then handed over the particulars to How, adding that the man also shared several banking receipts of other “donors”.
“But How saw that the donations were made to one ‘Stelastilitto Enterprise’ and not the official police account.
“I then asked the man for further details and I also asked him if he was trying to scam me.
“The man promptly deleted all previous messages and stopped responding to me,” he added.
Chong, who has dealt with numerous scam complaints from victims, said although he was aware of such scams, the man on the other end of the phone was quite convincing and sounded like a policeman.“I then contacted the Selangor police headquarters to enquire if there was an ACP Zamri working there and was told that there was no such person and that it was possibly a scam,” he added.
He advised the public to be cautious when receiving calls from strangers.
“If in doubt, always contact the relevant agency and check if such a person works there,” he said.