JERTIH: A retiree in Bandar Permaisuri, Setiu, lost RM60,000 to a phone scam earlier this month.
Acting Besut district police chief DSP Md Sani Md Saleh said the 64-year-old victim received a phone call on Feb 2 from a person claiming to be an insurance company representative.
“The suspect told the victim that she had made an insurance claim at a hospital in the Klang Valley and that a warrant of arrest had been issued against her for allegedly possessing 23 bank accounts linked to a money laundering case.
“Feeling afraid, the victim followed all the suspect’s instructions, opened a new bank account and transferred RM60,000 to the suspect in five transactions between Feb 2 and 16,” he said in a statement on Thursday (Feb 20).
Md Sani said the victim lodged a police report on Wednesday (Feb 19) after realising she had been duped, and the case was being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.