90-year-old woman loses RM3.83 million in phone scam

It was recently reported that a senior citizen was cheated RM3.83 million through a phone scam. According to Petaling Jaya District Police Chief ACP Nik Ezanee Mohd Faisal, a 90-year-old woman had received a call which claimed to be from Pos Malaysia on 30th April. She was told a parcel from Ipoh to Sabah had contained identification and ATM cards under her name.

Initially, she refuted the claim but the call was then transferred to individuals claiming to be Sjn Ho Mum Foo and Insp Herman Lee from the Perak Contingent Police headquarters. The so-called officers had told her that she was involved in a money-laundering case and she would be arrested.

Out of fear, she complied with the scammer’s request and have made several cash transfers to 7 accounts between 20th April and 15th June. After transferring several millions of ringgit, she realised that she had been scammed and had made a police report on the 28th of June.

According to the police, they have arrested 8 men and a woman aged between 30 and 43 years old between the 1st to 8th of July. They have also identified 7 company accounts located in Selangor, Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Sabah, and a total of RM1.4 million have been frozen. The police added that they are still tracing the remaining RM2.43 million that was stolen from the senior citizen and the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

The Petaling Jaya police chief has said that the syndicate had targeted senior citizens or people who are less informed about cybercrimes. Between 1st January to 19th November 2019 alone, there were 788 Macau scams reported in Petaling Jaya which involved losses totalling RM33.4 million.

Late last year, the Immigration Department had busted what appears to be the largest online scam syndicate in Malaysia that was operated by Chinese nationals. It was reported that nearly 1,000 individuals were arrested during a raid at Cyberjaya.

The Royal Malaysia Police has repeatedly issued warnings and reminders about scams and to beware of unknown individuals that pretend to be police or bank officers. To learn more, you can check out the 3 tips from the police to protect yourself from being scammed.

[ SOURCE 2 ]

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