Engineer loses over RM336,000 in phone scam
GEORGE TOWN: A 35-year-old engineer has fallen victim to a phone scam, losing a staggering RM336,760 in a fraud that spanned several weeks.
Southwest District police confirmed receiving a police report on the case.
Police have opened an investigation under Section 420 of the Penal Code, which deals with cheating.
State police chief Datuk Hamzah Ahmad said, according to the engineer's report, the victim's ordeal began on March 25, when the engineer received a suspicious phone call while at work in a factory in Bayan Lepas.
The victim claimed the caller had introduced himself as a representative from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and allegedly told the engineer that the victim's phone number had been linked to 33 police reports involving criminal activities.
The call was then "transferred" to an individual claiming to be a police officer from the Sarawak contingent police headquarters (IPK Sarawak).
"The impersonator accused the engineer of involvement in money laundering and was instructed to transfer funds to multiple bank accounts for the purposes of an 'investigation'.
"To gain the engineer's trust, the suspect falsely promised that the money would be returned once the investigation was completed.
"The victim was also threatened with an arrest warrant should the engineer fail to comply. Frightened and believing the claims to be true, the victim made multiple online transfers and cash deposits into 14 different bank accounts over the course of nearly three months, from March 25 to June 9. The total amount transferred was RM336,760," he said in a statement today.
Hamzah said the scam only came to light when the scammer continued to demand additional payments. The engineer then lodged a police report.
The latest incident came less than 24 hours after it was reported that police had launched investigations into separate cases of online investment fraud that cost two retirees a combined total of RM1,148,370, highlighting the growing threat of financial scams targeting unsuspecting victims via social media platforms.
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