IPOH: A retired civil servant here was cheated of about RM845,450 after falling victim to a phone scam.
Perak police chief Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said the 74-year-old victim had been duped into believing that she was involved in drug trafficking and money laundering activities by two "police officers" and a "Datuk".
"The woman received a call at her home on May 9 and was first accused of having arrears with the Inland Revenue Board for a company that was registered in her name in Melaka.
"The call was then connected to the bogus cops alleging her of the misdeeds," Comm Mohd Yusri said in a statement on Saturday (May 27).
"The call was then connected to the 'Datuk' who instructed the victim to adhere to his instructions, including to report to him on all banking transactions from time to time," he said, adding that the victim had transferred the money via a cash deposit machine to 14 bank accounts belonging to different people between May 10 and 19.
"The 'Datuk' also urged the victim to sell her house for the investigation and not to inform anyone about it.
"The victim only became aware that she was scammed after being informed by a friend whom she had asked to look for a property agent to sell her house," he added.
Comm Mohd Yusri said the case was now being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
He said people should never ever divulge their personal information to strangers at all times.
"The people should know that law enforcement agencies and financial institutions will not ask for people's personal bank account details or to do any transactions or payment into another person's bank account.
"Those who have fallen victim to phone and cyber scams or had just made a transaction to a mule account can contact the National Scam Response Centre at 997," he said, adding that the people can also call the police commercial crime investigation department infoline at 013-211 1222 via WhatsApp between 8am and 2pm.
"For the latest trend in scams, visit www.facebook.com/jsjkpdrm or www.facebook.com/
"The people can also check the status of bank accounts and contact numbers that are believed to be involved in scams at https://semakmule.rmp.gov.my," he added.
