IPOH – A supervisor from a private company lost over RM217,000 of her savings after falling victim to a phone call scam syndicate that claimed a warrant for her arrest was out for criminal activity.
Perak police chief Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said the 38-year-old woman filed a police report last Friday in Teluk Intan that she was scammed after receiving a phone call from a man claiming to be an employee of a courier company on June 26.
“The first suspect claimed there was a package bearing the victim’s name and address. When the victim denied the package was hers, the suspect asked the victim to make a police report online before the call was transferred to a woman known as “Sergeant Jasmine”, who then interrogated the victim,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Yusri added that the victim was then connected to a third suspect, “Inspector Wong” who claimed the victim had an arrest warrant for criminal money laundering activities, including human trafficking.
“The victim was finally interrogated by a ‘superior officer, Datuk Koh’, who ordered the woman to follow his instructions, including immediately transferring her savings and loans to six financial institutions.
“The woman panicked and followed his instructions by transferring money amounting to RM217,000 to several accounts given by the syndicate from June 27 to June 30,” he said.
“The public is advised not to be easily deceived by syndicates and to always check with the National Scam Response Centre at 997,” he added. – Bernama, July 9, 2023
