PETALING JAYA: A senior citizen was duped out of over RM600,000 in cash and jewellery after falling for a Macau scam.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said that the 72-year-old woman filed a report regarding the incident on Friday (Sept 27).
The victim, a retiree, had been contacted by the scammers on Sept 20, claiming that her phone number had been used in cyber crimes.
She was then told that she required "private information and funds protection," before being forwarded to a "police officer" who added that she was also involved in illegal money laundering.
"For their supposed investigation the victim had to consolidate her savings into one bank account. She was then told to hand over the banking details to the 'police'.
"The scammers also told her to surrender her jewellery and gold bars to a designated person who came to her home under the guise of recording statements. In total, the victim lost around RM670,994 in cash, jewellery, and gold, he said.
Comm Ramli said that 86,266 people have fallen victim to online scams from 2021 to 2023.
Of that, 6.4% were victims aged 61 years and older, with losses of RM552,512,422.66.
From January to August this year, a total of 21,535 victims had fallen to online scams, with 8.9% of them being senior citizens.
