Two senior citizens lose over RM227,000 to scams

KUANTAN: A private sector retiree lost RM140,520 after falling victim to a credit card scam.

Pahang police chief Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said the 65-year-old man claimed to have received an SMS (short messaging service) related to the use of his credit card for purchases he did not make.

He said the victim then contacted an individual who claimed to be a bank officer and proceeded to share his personal banking information.

“Out of fear, the victim provided the bank card and credit card numbers as well as transaction authorisation code (TAC) as requested by the suspect,” he said in a statement yesterday, Bernama reported.

The victim realised he had been duped after he found a reduction of RM140,520 from his bank account on Thursday.

In a separate case, Comm Ramli said that a senior citizen lost RM87,000 to an investment scheme syndicate.

The 70-year-old woman, he said, claimed that she was offered to join an investment scheme through the WhatsApp application last November.

Attracted to the offer, the woman made four transactions totalling RM87,000 from her savings account before realising she had been cheated after failing to withdraw the profit from an account provided by the suspect.

Both victims lodged police reports at the Kuantan and Temerloh district police headquarters on Thursday, and the cases are being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.