In a distressing incident, a civil servant in his 50s fell victim to a group of phone scammers who posed as insurance agents, police officers, and court officials. The unfortunate incident, involving a loss of approximately RM852,000, has raised concerns about the growing prevalence of phone scams in our society.
Kelantan's police chief, Datuk Muhamad Zaki Harun, confirmed that the police received a report from the victim, whose identity remains undisclosed, just yesterday. According to the victim's account, he received a call in January from an individual claiming to be an insurance agent based in Selangor.
At the time of the call, the victim was at his residence in Kota Baru. The caller informed him that he had made three claims for his recent medical procedure expenses within a short period, shared by Harun in a statement.
The plot thickened when, in early February, the victim received yet another call from the same fraudulent insurance company. This time, he was told that he was involved in money laundering and an arrest warrant had been issued against him. To make matters worse, the scammer also informed the victim that his bank account had been frozen.
To further deceive the unsuspecting victim, the scammer transferred the call to an accomplice posing as a Deputy Public Prosecutor. This individual coerced the victim into opening a new bank account and subsequently instructed him to transfer all his funds from his Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) account into the newly opened one.
The swindlers didn't stop there. They also convinced the victim to apply for a personal loan of RM350,000 from a local bank. Astonishingly, the victim's loan application was approved, and he dutifully transferred the loan amount of about RM327,000 into the same fraudulent account as directed by the scammers.
The suspect cunningly informed the victim that the court proceedings would take approximately three months before an official decision would be made, explained Harun.
In April, the victim attempted to register for online banking services for the newly opened account, only to discover that someone had already registered using his account number. This discovery prompted the victim to immediately check his bank account, where he found a mere RM48 remaining. The culprits had drained the account of almost its entire balance.
The police chief emphasized that this fraudulent case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code, which deals with offences related to cheating and dishonesty.
This unfortunate incident serves as a reminder for everyone to remain vigilant and cautious when receiving calls from unfamiliar numbers. It is crucial to verify the authenticity of any claims made over the phone, especially when sensitive financial information is involved. Remember, taking the necessary precautions can safeguard you from falling victim to such scams and protect your hard-earned money.
Kamran is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact Newswav.