Retired Sibu teacher loses RM207,000 in phone scam

SIBU: A retired teacher has been cheated of RM207,000 in a phone scam.

Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Mohd Azman Ahmad Sapri said the 73-year-old victim's troubles started when he received a call at about 10.40am on April 27 when he was at home.

"The suspect introduced himself as an officer from the Health Ministry, claiming that the victim had spread false information on Covid-19," he said on Thursday (June 15).

The call was later transferred to two so-called policemen in Sabah, informing the victim that he was also involved in money laundering.

"On the suspects' advice, the victim opened a bank account on April 18 and registered one of the suspects' phone number. He then deposited RM207,000 into the account," said Azman.

The victim was told that the money would be returned to him after an audit and to contact the suspect daily for updates.

"However, he realised that he had been cheated when he could no longer contact the suspect on June 11," he said.

Azman advised the public not to entertain calls from unknown numbers and to inform spouses, partners, close friends or family members.

He also urged individuals to verify the authenticity of any claims made with the police, bank or relevant agencies.

For further assistance or to report information regarding online crime cases, the public may contact the Commercial Crime Investigation Department Infoline at 013-211 1222 (WhatsApp/SMS).

Azman also reminded the public to check unknown telephone numbers with the police's Semak Mule at https://semakmule.rmp.gov.my/ before performing any financial transactions.