IPOH: A 32-year-old boarding school supervisor in Teluk Intan lost over RM34,000 after falling victim to a phone scam.
Hilir Perak OCPD Asst Comm Ahmad Adnan Basri said police received a report from the victim on Aug 10 stating that he had lost RM34,350.
He said that on July 22, at about 2.36pm, when the victim was at the school, he received a call from a “well-known online platform” stating that the victim’s account with a company that sells cosmetics contained prohibited substances. The caller advised him to lodge a police report at the Penang police contingent headquarters.
“However, the victim said he could not go to Penang, as it was too far from where he is based.
“The caller then gave the victim a link to call the ‘investigation officer from IPK Penang’ named ‘Inspector Khalish’.”
“The victim later received a call from the so-called inspector who said that the victim is involved in a money laundering case after he checked the victim’s details with the Bukit Aman police,” he said in a press statement on Sunday (Aug 11).
ACP Ahmad Adnan said that not long after that, the victim received a call from a ‘prosecutor’ named Azmi, who told him to transfer all his money to the auditor for investigation purposes and that the money would be returned to him once the investigation was concluded.
“On Aug 8 at about 6.36pm, the victim transferred RM24,200 into a bank account provided by the suspect.
“Then, on Aug 10, when the victim was in a bank in Baling, he transferred RM10,150 to another account.
“However, on the same evening, the victim felt worried and suspected that he had been cheated, which prompted him to lodge a report,” he added.
ACP Ahmad Adnan advised people not to answer unknown calls to prevent them from being cheated by scammers.
“No government-related agencies will connect any calls for victims to lodge reports. Instead, the victims must walk into a police station to do so,” he said.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
