TANAH MERAH, May 27 — A female clerk was cheated of RM534,000 by the Macau Scam syndicate after being duped by a phone call that claimed she owed the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) in tax arrears.
Kelantan Commercial Crime Investigation Division chief Supt Ahmad Azizul Mohamed said a 40-year-old victim received a phone call from a woman in April, claiming that the victim owed the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) RM24,000 in tax arrears.
“The victim was then connected to a man claimed to be a policeman from the Sabah police contingent headquarters and this has caused the victim to be panicked as she was not aware that she was being deceived by the syndicate.
“The victim then deposited certain amount of money into an account to solve the tax arrears problem,” he told a press conference at the Tanah Merah district police headquarters (IPD) which was also attended by Tanah Merah district police chief DSP Suzaimi Mohammed.
The victim was also told if she failed to settle the debt, her assets would be frozen and the suspect asked for all the money to be deposited into the account of the ‘investigating officer’ and promised that the money would be returned as soon as the investigation completed.
“Within a month, the woman has made 12 transactions between RM10,000 and RM38,000, totalling RM534,000.
He said the victim only realised that she had been cheated after she informed her family members.
The case was being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code, he said. — Bernama
