KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 27 — An individual has claimed to be a victim of fraud after allegedly being deceived by a woman posing as an officer of the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC), resulting in money being withdrawn from the victim’s bank account without the victim’s knowledge or consent.

Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa said the victim lodged a police report last Wednesday after receiving a phone call from a suspect who claimed that the victim’s phone number had been misused to disseminate fake links related to government financial assistance.

He said the victim was later connected to another individual who claimed to be a police officer and alleged that the victim was involved in a money laundering case, further linking the victim’s name to a fake account following the arrest of an individual in the case.

“On Dec 4, the suspect instructed the victim to place the victim’s ATM card at a designated location, purportedly to be handed over to the police for investigation purposes.

“After handing over the ATM card and PIN number, the victim later realised that money in the bank account had been reduced and withdrawn in stages without the victim’s knowledge or consent,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Rusdi said the NSRC, which was established in October 2022, operates as a one-way call centre that only receives calls from the public and does not contact individuals via telephone or messaging applications such as WhatsApp.

“Any call or message claiming to represent the NSRC is purely fraudulent,” he said.

He stressed that the Royal Malaysia Police do not conduct investigations through telephone calls. Instead, investigating officers will summon individuals involved to appear at the investigating officer’s office for further action.

“The public is advised to remain vigilant, refrain from disclosing personal or banking information to unknown parties, and to lodge a police report immediately if they suspect they have fallen victim to a scam,” he said. — Bernama