Johor businessman falls victim to imposters, loses RM130,000

BATU PAHAT: A 61-year-old man lost RM130,000 after falling for imposters who claimed he had stolen electricity and was involved in money laundering.

Batu Pahat deputy OCPD Supt, Shahrulanuar Mushaddat Abdullah Sani, said the victim, a businessman, received the telephone call on May 24 from the caller who claimed to be a Tenaga National Berhad officer based in Kuantan, Pahang.

The caller accused him of stealing electricity, but the victim denied it, as he owns no properties in Kuantan.

“After that, the caller allegedly transferred the call to the Pahang police headquarters, where an individual introduced himself as a policeman.

“The fake policeman then told the victim that his personal information had been used in money laundering activities,” said Supt Shahrulanuar Mushaddat in a statement on Wednesday (May 29).

He added that the fake policeman told the victim to provide his banking details to assist in the alleged investigation.

“When the victim checked his bank account two days later, he found that RM130,000 had been transferred in several transactions to bank accounts of three strangers without his knowledge,” he said.

The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

He urged the public not to trust calls from unknown numbers and to do due diligence before providing their personal information to others or before making any transactions.