T’ganu woman loses RM200,000 to Macau scam

KUALA TERENGGANU: A 47-year-old businesswoman lost over RM200,000 after she fell for a Macau scam.

Terengganu police chief Datuk Mazli Mazlan said in early February, the woman received a call from people claiming that she had been implicated in a case involving money laundering and drugs.

Posing as representatives from a courier company and the police, the scammers convinced the woman to divulge her online banking account information, including her password.

“She was then instructed to make several fund transfers to a specified account and to wait for three months for the investigation to be concluded before regaining access to her bank account,” he said in a statement to Bernama yesterday.

The ruse was discovered by her family, after which the woman found that her bank balance had been reduced by RM202,400, with 35 unauthorised transactions taking place without her knowledge.

Realising that she had been deceived, the woman reported the incident to the police on Feb 28.Mazli warned members of the public not to be swayed by calls from unfamiliar numbers and to terminate such calls should they feel apprehensive or suspicious.

He also advised them against disclosing banking information to unknown people, stressing the prevalence of scams and the need for vigilance in dealing with unsolicited communication.

The term “Macau scam” was coined as it is believed to have originated from Macau or that the first victims came from there.

The scam often starts with a phone call from someone pretending to be an officer from a bank, government or law enforcement agency, or a debt collector.