A 78-YEAR-OLD man lost RM1.9 million after falling victim to a phone scam involving a caller who posed as a police officer and accused him of being involved in a criminal offence.
Perak police chief Datuk Mohd Alwi Zainal Abidin said the victim was contacted by an unidentified individual who introduced himself as a police officer and informed him that he was allegedly involved in a criminal case.
He said the suspect used intimidation tactics to frighten the victim, causing him to panic and follow the instructions given.
“The victim then followed instructions to transfer his money to an unknown party, resulting in estimated losses of RM1.9 million.
“Realising that he had been deceived, the victim came forward to lodge a police report,” he said in a statement today.
Mohd Alwi said preliminary investigations found that the case involved a phone scam modus operandi in which the suspects impersonated law enforcement officers to gain the victim’s trust before defrauding him.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
Mohd Alwi stressed that police would never instruct anyone to transfer money to a particular account for investigation purposes.
He advised the public not to panic or readily believe calls from individuals claiming to be police officers, bank officials or representatives of enforcement agencies.
“Members of the public are advised to immediately end suspicious calls and not disclose banking information such as TACs, OTPs, passwords or personal information to unknown parties,” he said.
He also urged senior citizens, retirees and their family members to remain vigilant against such scams.
“Family members are advised to constantly remind their parents and senior citizens not to make any financial transactions based on instructions received over the phone without first verifying them,” he said. - September 6, 2026
