SIBU: A private sector employee has fallen prey to a scam, losing RM18,350 to fraudsters who impersonated law enforcement officials.
According to Sibu’s police chief, ACP Zulkipli Suhaili, the incident occurred on July 31 when the victim, in her 20s, received a call from an individual pretending to be from the Sarawak Customs Department.
In a surprising twist, the caller informed her that she was in possession of a prohibited package that had supposedly been seized by the department.
Things took a sinister turn as the victim’s call was transferred to another person, this time pretending to be from the Sarawak Police Contingent Headquarters (IPK).
“The person claimed that the victim was involved in a money laundering case involving RM80,000. She was instructed to urgently make a payment to help in a financial investigation,” explained Zulkipli.
Feeling panicked and afraid, the victim followed the instructions and transferred RM18,350 into four unknown bank accounts through four transactions.
Reality dawned on the woman when she shared her ordeal with her family and realised she had been deceived.
She promptly reported the incident to the police on Monday. The case is now being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
In light of this, the public is advised not to panic if they receive calls from unfamiliar individuals who claim to represent government departments, agencies, or financial institutions.
Zulkipli also encouraged people to stay informed and seek advice about scams from the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC), or to follow the Facebook pages @CyberCrimeAlertRMP and @JSJKPDRM.
To avoid falling victim to scams, the public is encouraged to verify any suspicious bank accounts or phone numbers using the Semak Mule website at http://ccid.rmp.gov.my/semakmule/.
