SIBU: The world of a female civil servant came crashing down as a ‘phone scam’ syndicate made off with her hard-earned life savings, leaving her nearly RM100,000 poorer.
Sibu Police Chief, ACP Zulkipli Suhaili, said that the unfortunate incident began when the victim, a woman in her 30s, received a call on September 1 from an individual who claimed to be from a courier company.
According to Zulkipli, the caller informed the victim about a package supposedly registered under her name. The package allegedly contained five identity cards, five ATM cards, and five passports.
“The call was then transferred to another individual who purportedly was a police officer. This person confirmed the situation and offered assistance to help resolve the case,” said Zulkipli.
During the phone conversation, the victim was coerced into transferring RM50,000 as investigation fees into an account provided by the scammer.
“In a state of panic, the victim complied with the instructions and carried out five transfer transactions, amounting to RM99,700, into a local bank account,” Zulkipli explained in a statement today (September 2).
Zulkipli further said that the woman only realised the extent of deception when a family member advised her to report the incident to the police.
“The victim lodged a police report today, prompting the Commercial Crime Investigation Division at Sibu District Police Headquarters (IPD) to initiate an investigation under Section 420 of the Penal Code,” he added.
He advised those who encounter such situations to reach out to the National Scam Response Center (NSRC) at 997. Additionally, individuals can stay informed by following the Facebook page @CyberCrimeAlertRMP @JSJKPDRM, and verify the authenticity of bank accounts and suspicious phone numbers through the website http://ccid.rmp.gov.my/semakmule/.
