JOHOR BARU: Police here are investigating two separate fraud cases involving a phone scam and an online gold purchase scam leading to losses over RM64,000.
Johor Baru South OCPD Asst Comm Raub Selamat said the first case involved a 64-year-old accountant who lost RM44,780 to a phone scam.
The incident began on March 20 at 12.30pm while the victim was at her workplace in Taman Melodies.
She received a call from 011-33351247, with the caller claiming to be from a Kuala Lumpur bank.
The suspect claimed a credit card was issued under her name and advised her to contact Bank Negara Malaysia to close the account.
ACP Raub said she was then transferred to 03-86892842 and tricked into sharing details of four bank accounts and her usernames and passwords.
At around 2.40pm, the victim received SMS alerts about four unauthorised fund transfers totalling RM44,780.
A check using the Semak Mule CCID app revealed the suspect’s phone number had no prior criminal records.
In a separate case, a 61-year-old housewife lost RM19,463 in an online gold purchase scam via a Telegram group.
ACP Raub said the incident started on Feb 1 at 9am, when the victim saw an ad on Telegram for discounted gold sales.
She joined a Telegram group and contacted an admin named Marlinda Rafikah via 011-12376015.
Interested in buying a gold necklace worth RM970, she shared her personal details and made the payment.
After the initial payment, the suspect asked for more payments for insurance, claiming it was needed for shipping protection.
Between March 14 and March 20, the victim made 11 bank transfers to four accounts under different names.
ACP Raub added the total loss was RM19,463, and the suspect later demanded another RM1,500 for "insurance."
At this point, the victim realised she had been scammed after not receiving the gold item.
A check using the Semak Mule CCID app found the phone number and bank accounts involved had no prior criminal records.
Both cases are being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
Johor police urge the public to remain vigilant and avoid being deceived by individuals claiming to be bank officers, police officers, or government agency representatives.
The public is also advised to be cautious and learn from these cases, avoiding attractive offers on social media.
