SEBERANG PERAI, April 29 ― A 39-year-old civil servant lost RM205,000 in a telephone scam after she was duped into believing that an arrest warrant had been issued against her.
North Seberang Perai district police chief ACP Noorzainy Mohd Noor said the victim received a phone call purportedly from the Kuantan police headquarters informing her that her personal details were used to register for an online gambling platform.
He said the victim was then connected to someone who claimed to be a police inspector and he told her that a warrant of arrest was already issued against her.
"He told her to set up a new bank account and register the suspect's number under that account so that he could control and transfer all funds in the account," he said.
Noorzainy said the suspect in the pretext of helping her also told the victim that her case needed to be "resolved" immediately, or she would be arrested.
"The victim took out loans from two bank accounts amounting RM78,000 and RM135,000 and immediately transferred funds to the new bank account she had set up," he said, adding that the victim then furnished the account details to the suspect.
The victim only realised she was scammed when she checked the balance in the bank account and found that all of the funds in the account were gone.
"This was when she realised she was scammed by a syndicate and lodged a police report," he said.
Noorzainy advised the public to be careful and not easily fall for scams by these syndicates.
"Do not panic and follow the instructions of unknown persons over the phone. Instead, call the police or organisation involved to verify any claims made by the caller," he said.
He said the case has been classified under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
