Batu Pahat farmer loses RM290,000 in Macau scam

BATU PAHAT: A farmer lost RM290,000 to scammers posing as Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and police officers.

Batu Pahat OCPD Asst Comm Shahrulanuar Mushaddat Abdullah Sani said the 61-year-old man received a call from a woman claiming to be an MCMC officer on Aug 25.

“The woman told the victim that he was involved in a bank account scam syndicate.

“The call was then transferred to another suspect, who claimed to be a police officer from Terengganu police headquarters.

"The ‘policeman’ told the victim to file a police report through the phone for further action.

“The scammer assured the victim that he could be granted bail, but his assets would be frozen as the case was still under investigation,” he said in a statement on Tuesday (Sept 24).

The victim was then asked to transfer funds from his account to several bank accounts provided as part of the investigation, added ACP Shahrulanuar Mushaddat.

“The victim then transferred RM290,000 to six different accounts,” he said, adding that the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

ACP Shahrulanuar Mushaddat reminded the public to be cautious when receiving phone calls from unknown numbers and to check with the relevant authorities before following any instructions over the phone or conducting any suspicious transactions.