KUALA TERENGGANU, April 4 — A student from an institution of higher learning (IPTA) here lost RM64,200 after being duped by a phone scam syndicate.
Kuala Terengganu police chief ACP Azli Mohd Noor said that on January 1, the 22-year-old victim received a call from a man posing as a representative of an online shopping company.
Azli said the representative claimed that the products she (the victim) sold on the platform had caused several customers to fall sick and that she would be prosecuted.
“She was then connected to another syndicate member posing as a police officer. She was also alleged to have been involved in money laundering and would be arrested.
“The suspect then offered to help her clear her name, but she would need to pay a certain amount,” Azli said in a statement today.
Azli said the victim panicked and made eight transactions totalling RM64,200 into seven different bank accounts using her father’s Tabung Haji savings.
However, upon realising that she had been duped, she lodged a report at the police station yesterday and the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
Meanwhile, in Jertih, a retired school teacher found himself RM181,900 poorer after being duped by an online fraud syndicate recently.
Besut deputy police chief DSP Md Sani Md Saleh said that on September 2, 2024, the 60-year-old received a call from a woman claiming to be a representative of an insurance company.
“The victim, from Kampung Chegar Batang, Hulu Besut here, was alleged to have made false insurance claims and involved in money laundering activities.
“The senior citizen became afraid and did what the suspect instructed by opening an account at a bank branch in Machang, Kelantan,” he said in a statement today.
He said the victim also credited cash into the bank account in stages before realising that he had been duped when his new bank account showed a balance of just RM104.55. — Bernama
