KUCHING: A recent phone scam has left a local businessman, in his late fifties, reeling from a substantial loss of RM136,000.
Sarawak police commissioner Datuk Mohd Azman Ahmad Sapri yesterday (Sept 8) said the Sarawak Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) received a police report on a phone scam that left a local entrepreneur financially devastated.
“The victim, whose identity remains confidential, said that on July 6 he received a call from an individual claiming to represent the Ministry of Health Malaysia (MoH).
“The caller alleged that the victim had lodged a complaint with the MoH concerning a telco-related matter. However, the victim denied having filed such a complaint.
“The situation escalated when the call was redirected to the Perak State Police Headquarters (IPK Perak) and was put in contact with a person named Insp Yong who delivered the news,” he said.
Later on the victim was informed that there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest, implicating him in a money laundering scheme.
Overwhelmed by panic and fear, on July 7, the victim followed the suspect’s instructions, opening a Bank Rakyat account and sharing his debit card number and account details.
“Further demands from the suspect led the victim to delete all WhatsApp messages exchanged between them and deliberately break his Bank Rakyat debit card.
“He later initiated a series of four money transfer transactions, cumulatively amounting to approximately RM136,000, into his newly created Bank Rakyat account,” he explained
It was only after a thorough review of his savings account that the victim realised the extent of the deception.
Eight unauthorised money transactions, totaling RM136,000, had occurred without his consent.
The funds had been moved from his account to two separate third-party bank accounts, all unbeknownst to him.
