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MIRI – A young woman in Sibu district has become the latest victim to be intimidated and cheated by scammers masquerading as the authorities via phone calls and social media links.
The woman in her early twenties is an employee in the corporate sector and she had been cheated of RM28,600, said Sibu police chief Zulkipli Suhaili today.
The woman had on June 16 received calls and messages from certain people claiming to be officers from a government department and police, he said in a press statement.
“They had managed to frighten her into believing she had committed criminal offences relating to human trafficking and money laundering.”
They gave her a social media link to key in details of herself and her bank account, he said.
However, she later found that RM28,600 from her savings account had been withdrawn online and transferred to three local bank accounts that did not belong to her.
Zulkipli said police have classified the case as cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
He once again called on the public not to be so easily taken in or frightened into revealing their personal details to strangers.
“Do not react in a panicky way when you receive calls or messages from people claiming to be government enforcement people or police officers.
“You can always go to the nearest police station to check on such claims and clarify matters.
“Immediately call the National Scam Response Centre at hotline 997,” he stressed.
It was reported only two days ago, on June 19, that another woman in state capital Kuching had allegedly suffered huge losses after being cheated by a bogus “police officer”.
The middle-aged woman had allegedly lost RM123,900 to the bogus cop, and had sought the help of Sarawak DAP to recover the money. She claimed the funds were fully withdrawn online – despite her not having even activated online banking.
On June 17, it was reported that a senior citizen in Sarawak was cheated by an online scam involving a bogus investment offer.
The victim was a woman aged 60 in the Padawan district in southern Sarawak who is a retired account officer.
The victim was subsequently coaxed into making payments to the tune of RM133,432 via a series of 24 online transactions to seven different bank accounts with the hope of securing an attractive commission.
On June 15, it was reported that another senior citizen in Sarawak was cheated online – in that case by bogus enforcement officers to a sum of RM207,000.
The 73-year-old victim was a retired schoolteacher in Sibu district in central Sarawak. He was frightened into believing that he had committed criminal offences of spreading false information about Covid-19 and committing money laundering. He was coaxed into opening a new bank account to transfer his money there to solve the case.
Earlier, another senior citizen aged 66 had reportedly been cheated of RM1.2 million by bogus enforcers who managed to frighten him into believing he was being hunted for financial crimes. – The Vibes, June 21, 2023