KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 — A pensioner of a private company lost RM1.3 million after falling victim to a Macau Scam syndicate, early last month.
Petaling Jaya district police chief ACP Mohamad Fakhrudin Abdul Hamid said the 60-year-old woman was contacted by an individual who impersonated as a bank officer, alleging that her credit card had been used to purchase bitcoins on a social website.
He said the victim denied performing such transactions and had given her personal details to the caller, who also claimed to be a Bank Negara representative, to help her lodge a police report.
“The victim received a copy of the police report at 9.02 am on the next day via the WhatsApp application and was asked to provide the details of all of her bank accounts for renewal purposes.
“On May 10, the victim made an inquiry with Bank Negara and was informed that the call she received was fake,” he said in a statement today.
Mohamad Fakhrudin said the investigation found that the victim had provided the information on seven of her bank accounts to the caller, adding that the syndicate often targets senior citizens who lack knowledge and exposure to today’s cybercrime. — Bernama
