KUALA BERANG: Two separate scam cases in Terengganu have cost victims nearly RM190,000, with a civil servant losing RM119,000 to a phone scam and a housewife losing RM70,731 to a fake job scheme.
Hulu Terengganu OCPD Supt Sharudin Abdu Wahab said on Nov 16 last year, the 43-year-old civil servant was contacted by a female suspect posing as an insurance officer, claiming she was implicated in money laundering and needed to pay RM188,000 to avoid arrest.
"The victim took out a personal loan and transferred RM110,000 to a new account as instructed by the suspect. She also provided her full bank details under the pretext of security verification," he said in a statement on Wednesday (Jan 14).
Supt Sharudin said the victim panicked on Tuesday (Jan 13) morning upon discovering that RM100,000 had been siphoned from her new account.
"She lodged a police report at 12.29pm the same day after realising she had been cheated. The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property)," he said.
In a separate case in Kuala Terengganu, a housewife lost RM70,731 after being deceived by an online part-time job scam syndicate.
Kuala Terengganu OCPD Asst Comm Azli Mohd Noor said the 28-year-old victim was first sent an unsolicited gift parcel on Jan 2, after which a suspect posing as a Shopee representative contacted her to offer lucrative part-time work.
"The victim was assigned simple tasks such as reviewing products through provided links on websites and social media. However, to start the tasks, she was required to pay fees that would be refunded along with high returns," he said in a statement on Wednesday.
ACP Azli said the victim used her entire savings and borrowed from close family to pay the fees to the suspect.
She finally lodged a police report at 2.18 pm yesterday after failing to recover her money or receive the promised earnings.
"The victim made seven transactions totalling RM70,731 to various accounts over two days, from Jan 11 and 12. The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code," he said. — Bernama
