GEORGE TOWN: A 61-year-old insurance clerk here lost more than RM600,000 after falling victim to a Macau scam or phone scam involving suspects who impersonated bank officers and the police.
Penang police chief Comm Datuk Azizee Ismail said the woman was duped into making 14 bank transfers amounting to RM601,850 to four different local accounts between Aug 14 and 28.
The scam began when the victim received a phone call from a man claiming to be a bank officer, who told her that someone had used a credit card under her name.
The call was then redirected to another suspect posing as an officer from Johor police headquarters.
“The so-called officer told the victim she was being investigated for money laundering and demanded her personal details and bank account information,” Comm Azizee said in a statement on Monday (Sept 1).
The scammers then instructed her to transfer money into several accounts, allegedly for investigation purposes.
Trusting the instructions, the victim complied until she finally confided in her daughter, who told her that she had been deceived.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
