Keeping the public informed: DCP Yong (left) speaking to members of the Pekan Kepong PPR about the latest commercial crime trends during the community policing programme. — CHAN TAK KONG/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Scammers are using the names of high-ranking police officers to dupe unsuspecting victims into parting with their money.
Sharing this new tactic with members of the public, City deputy police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Yong Lei Choo said even her name has not been spared.
“We received a report in which a scammer used my name and managed to cheat a victim out of RM15,000.
“About six years ago, a scammer also called my sister and tried to trick her by telling her that I had been arrested.
“Luckily, my sister knew better and instead of panicking, she called me first,” she told reporters after attending a community policing programme at the Pekan Kepong People’s Housing Project (PPR) here yesterday.
DCP Yong said programmes like this were important for the police to keep the public informed of the latest scams.
“We also wanted to take the time to inform the community here on the latest commercial crime trends.
“We told them that with the pandemic, online and e-commerce scam cases have started to become popular,” she said, urging the community to be cautious when dealing with anyone online or via the phone.
Police, she added, also advised the community during the programme to never give out their personal details or passwords to anyone online.
“Knowledge is the public’s greatest weapon against crime syndicates and we will continue to disseminate the latest information to them on what to do and what not to do,” she said.
DCP Yong said police statistics also showed that at Pekan Kepong PPR, indexed crime had increased by three cases to 23 between January and October compared to the same period last year.
Indexed crime refers to crimes which occur with significant regularity.
