KUCHING – The district police here are still tracking down the suspect involved in the recent bank scam case, which involved a sum of RM1.03 million.
Kuching police chief Ashmon Bajah told a press conference today that police are also investigating the account to which the money was transferred.
“We know it’s under the name of a telco company, but we still need to verify the legitimacy of the account,” he said, adding that more details will be made public once police have finished their investigation.
Ashmon said the suspect transferred RM1 million from the victim’s savings account and RM30,000 from his credit card on February 26.
Prior to the transaction, the victim received a phone call from a suspect who claimed to be working for Poslaju.
The suspect demanded the victim provide him with a one-time password (OTP) number that was sent to his phone via SMS.
“The victim did not comply. He, however, received a second phone call from the suspect who told him to check his savings account. That was when the victim realised that his savings were gone,” said Ashmon.
He added that the victim then immediately lodged a police report and called the bank.
Ashmon also revealed that the district police with Bukit Aman, which has a special team to deal with such cases, sprang into action and began to trace down the transaction.
“It was then discovered that the money, which was transferred by the suspect, was still pending at the bank. That is why we managed to recover the victim’s money quickly.”
For other cases with similar modus operandi, the victims, he said, would only realise that their money has been siphoned out of their savings account maybe weeks or months later.
“That is why it is very important to immediately call the National Scam Response Centre at 997. Make the call first and then immediately lodge a report at the nearest police station for swift action.”
He gave his assurance that police are working with banks when it comes to scam cases.
On another note, the Kuching police in 2022 recorded a total of six Macau Scam cases involving RM77,328.96, while between January 1 and February 28 this year, they recorded five Macau Scam cases involving RM1,136,842.
Ashmon reminded the public to be aware of any suspicious phone calls or messages, especially the ones where the caller asks to provide them with an OTP or a transaction authorisation code number under the guise that they need the number to update a bank account or deliver a package.
“The best way is to just ignore these calls or messages.”
Since 2022, the Kuching police have charged six individuals in court involved in scam cases under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
All six have been found guilty and fined RM1,000 for the offence under Section 37(1) of the Sarawak Minor Offence Ordinance 1958 for unlawful possession of money.
Also present at the press conference was Kuching police deputy chief Merbin Lisa. – Borneo Post Online, March 4, 2023
