Doctor, 29, loses RM92k after phone call from 'IRB', 'police'

SEREMBAN: A 29-year-old doctor lost RM92,800 after he fell for a phone scam in which he was accused of failing to pay his income tax and for being involved in money-laundering, drugs and firearms cases.

Negri Sembilan commercial crime chief Supt Aibee Ab Ghani said the victim was at work on June 23 when he received the call from a man claiming that he owed the Inland Revenue Board RM38,000 in arrears.

"After talking to the doctor, the suspect transferred the call to what was supposedly the Pahang police contingent, and the victim was told that he was involved in the other crimes.

"He was then told to transfer all his savings into several bank accounts to allow the authorities to probe his case under the Anti Money Laundering Act," he said.

Supt Aibee said the victim went to the bank on the same day and transferred RM92,800 in stages into several bank accounts given by the suspect.

"The victim then decided to do some checks of his own and realised that he had been duped, and he then lodged a report," said Supt Aibee.

In a separate case, Supt Aibee said a 51-year-old tailor from Bahau lost RM80,954 to a non-existent loan scheme.

He said the incident happened last month after the victim saw an advertisement on Facebook offering loans to those interested.

"On May 29, the victim received a message that her loan application for RM250,000 had been approved.

"However, she was told to bank in RM80,954 into separate accounts so that the process could be continued before the loan was disbursed," he said.

The victim then carried out 26 transactions and even received a short message service purportedly from a bank saying that her application was being processed.

However, she then tried contacting the suspect but failed to reach him. The victim lodged a report upon realising that she had been duped.

Supt Aibee advised the public not to entertain any calls asking for details of their identity cards or bank accounts.

They were also told not to surrender their ATM cards and PIN to others, and to go to banks or licensed moneylenders if they wish to apply for loans.