TAMPIN – A clerk with a private company has lost RM693,900 after being deceived by a Macau Scam syndicate that claimed she was involved in money laundering.
Negri Sembilan Commercial Crime Investigation Department head Aibee Abd Ghani, in a statement today, said the 59-year-old victim received a call on October 27 from an unknown person, who correctly stated her name and MyKad number.
“She was told that an arrest warrant will be issued against her for involvement in money laundering, following which, the call was connected to two men claiming to be police officers ‘Sgt Tan’ and ‘ASP Yong’.
“She said the duo ‘created fear’ in her, and asked for her Public Bank account username and password, and for her to withdraw her savings, totalling RM363,900.”
He said the suspects also told the woman to pay RM260,000 for bail and RM70,000 in legal fees.
The victim, in a panic, did as she was instructed and transferred the funds into a Public Bank account given by the suspects.
She was told to be at the Tampin court yesterday for “case mention”, said Aibee.
After giving her account information to the suspects, she began getting notifications from the bank on transfers to several other accounts, and was informed that they were for “audit purposes”, with the money to be returned later, he said.
He said the woman received another call yesterday from a man claiming to be “DSP Chew”, who told her to raise another RM135,000 for bail.
However, the woman did not make the payment as she has run out of money.
Suspecting that something was amiss, she lodged a police report on the matter.
Aibee said the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code. – Bernama, December 13, 2020
