KUALA TERENGGANU: A retired civil servant suffered losses amounting to RM155,804 after falling victim to a phone scam syndicate that impersonated police officers.
Kuala Terengganu district police chief ACP Azli Mohd Noor said the 68-year-old woman was contacted by a suspect on Jan 16, who claimed she had an arrest warrant for alleged involvement in money laundering and tampering with water metres.
He said the scammer then requested the victim to share her banking information for three accounts, claiming it was necessary for the investigation.
"The victim was further directed to put her debit card in a plastic bag and hang it in a tree in front of her house. She soon received alerts about large withdrawals from her accounts.
"After reaching out to her bank to freeze her accounts and obtain transaction statements, she learned that over 55 transactions had been made to four accounts through automated teller machines (ATM),” he said when contacted on Monday (Jan 27).
Azli said the woman, who lost her pension savings, lodged a police report at 3.35pm on Sunday (Jan 26).
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating. - Bernama
