On high alert: Nurhidayah pointing out some of the types of tyres that were ordered by scammers using fake documents at her outlet in Johor. — THOMAS YONG/The Star
KLUANG: A clerk at a tyre and accessories shop here felt something amiss when she saw a huge government order to supply tyres for at least 42 vehicles belonging to the Fire and Rescue Department.
Nurhidayah Maisarah, 22, found that the letter that outlined a RM150,000 offer seemed like a “cut and paste” job.
Furthermore, the signatures on the documents sent to her looked fake.
She decided to call the fire station about the purchase order.
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“They (the firemen at the station) told me that they did not have any such personnel, nor did they request for tyres for their four-wheel-drive vehicles,” she added.
She promptly lodged a report and blocked the contact number.
Recalling the incident, Nurhidayah said someone contacted her via WhatsApp last month to enquire about tyres.
“After getting the price, the person identified himself as being from the Kluang fire station. Then he sent over some ‘government documents’.
“We also spoke a few times over the phone,” she said, adding that the man seemed to have a foreign accent and was particular about details.
For instance, he wanted the tyre shop to provide the quotation in a document with proper letterhead.
“I suspected something was not right, and after consulting my manager, I decided to call the fire station directly,” said Nurhidayah.
She said the tyre company has about 20 branches in Melaka and Johor, and the conman could have found them via an online search.
In another similar case, a tyre company manager who wanted to be known only as “Ms Ling” said she also lodged a police report after a dubious request came in for vehicle tyres, supposedly from the Seratok fire station in Sarawak.
“A woman claiming to be from the Fire Department placed an order of RM18,000 for 43 tyres for various types of vehicles,” she said.
“It was puzzling, as she only wanted to communicate via WhatsApp.”
Based on past dealings where government jobs were concerned, including changing tyres for fire department vehicles, Ms Ling said the officers would usually come to the shop to deal with the purchase.
However, she said the documents sent to her via WhatsApp appeared genuine.
The supposed buyer was persistent and communicated with her for about two weeks, she added.
Eventually, the tyre company decided to call the nearest fire station for verification.
“We were told that there was no such tender or personnel,” said Ms Ling.
She said that they have been in the business for the past 20 years, and their company could have been randomly targeted based on online information.
