Retiree duped out of nearly RM1mil in Macau scam

PETALING JAYA: In yet another Macau scam case, a 74-year-old woman lost almost RM1mil.

On Sept 25 last year, the retiree received a call from a person claiming to be from Pos Laju’s headquarters.

Petaling Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Nik Ezanee Mohd Faisal said according to the victim, she received a call telling her there was a package for her containing a MyKad and three ATM cards.

The suspect then connected the call to another person who claimed to be an officer from the Sabah police headquarters.

“The ‘policeman’ claimed she was involved in money laundering, ” said ACP Nik Ezanee.

He added that the call was then transferred to a third person identifying himself as “Si Wan”, who said the victim would be detained if she did not cooperate.

“Out of fear, the victim revealed her bank account details over the phone, ” he said.

The victim then transferred RM833,000 from her Tabung Haji account to her bank account on Oct 1.

“The so-called ‘Si Wan’ then asked the victim to hand over her ATM cards, purportedly for auditing purposes, on Oct 5.

“The victim was instructed to place the cards in a mailbox at a shopping mall.

“This was done the following day, ” said ACP Nik Ezanee.

The victim subsequently transferred another RM159,000 to her other bank account in several transactions, he added.

The victim only realised she had been duped and lodged a police report on Feb 3, four months after first talking to the scammers.ACP Nik Ezanee warned that Macau scam syndicates were targeting senior citizens.

He advised those who received such calls not to be fooled.

“If you receive such calls, check with your family members or call the police, ” he said.

Macau scams often start with a call from someone claiming to be an officer from a bank, government or law enforcement agency.

The scammer will then claim the victim owes money or has an unpaid fine, often with an hour or less, to settle the payment or face “dire consequences”.