KOTA SAMARAHAN: A housewife lost RM100,000 after she was misled into believing that she was involved in money laundering, scams and colluding with a wanted suspect.
The unfortunate incident happened last month when the victim, in her early 50s, received an unsolicited phone call from an individual claiming to be a representative from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
The caller informed the victim that 15 complaints had been filed against her for defrauding others.
Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Mancha Ata said that the call was later connected to individuals impersonating officers from Perlis Contingent Police Headquarters (IPK) and Bukit Aman Police Headquarters.
The suspects accused the victim of being involved in several criminal activities such as money laundering and colluding with a wanted suspect.
“Following that, the victim was ordered to withdraw all of her savings and transfer them into six different bank accounts for further investigation purposes.
“Driven by fear and panic, the victim transferred a sum of RM100,000 via 14 transactions between mid-April and mid-May.
“Upon completing the transfers, the victim realised that she had been cheated,” he said in a statement.
In addition, she was instructed to destroy the transaction receipts and keep the calls and money transfers confidential.
Mancha added that the woman reported the incident to the police last Wednesday and the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating and dishonestly inducing the delivery of property.
In light of this, the public is advised not to entertain unknown phone calls and to remain calm if allegations are made against them without cause.
The public is also urged not to provide their banking information to unknown individuals or parties.
