Bogus Bank Negara officer scams senior citizen of RM213,000

NILAI: Scammers impersonating Bank Negara officials have struck again, this time duping a woman in her 60s here of about RM213,000.

Nilai police chief Supt Abdul Malik Hasim said the victim received a text from an unidentified phone number on Monday (Dec 4) notifying her that her credit card had been used for an online transaction.

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"The victim was then given a number and told to report the matter to Bank Negara Malaysia in the event she did not carry out the transaction. An individual claiming to be a Bank Negara officer then told the victim to provide all her banking details including the ATM card number," he said.

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Supt Abdul Malik said in a statement on Thursday (Dec 7) that the victim was also told to forward the one-time password she received from her bank so that Bank Negara could stop her account from being compromised.

However, later in the day the victim realised that the amount in her bank accounts had reduced by RM212,951.20.

She lodged a police report on Wednesday (Dec 6).

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The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating, which carries a jail term of between one and 10 years, whipping and a fine upon conviction.

Supt Abdul Malik advised the public not to provide any personal information or banking details to strangers to avoid becoming scam victims.