Con artist extorts almost RM4,000 from woman after faking accident

KUALA LUMPUR: Tricksters have come up with a new way of scamming drivers, particularly female drivers who are alone, by faking accidents on the road to extort money from their victims.
One such case happened last week to Lee Mei Tee, 30 who was turning into the main entrance of a hospital in the city when she heard a loud noise on the left side of her vehicle.
When she got down to asses the situation there was a motorist named Jack Lim who had accused her of hitting his vehicle.
"He came up to me while walking with a limp and was very angry, he then accused me of damaging his motorcycle and injuring him in the process, but when I looked at my car, there wasn't a scratch or damage on it anywhere," said Lee at a press conference today.
She explained that the con artist had persuaded her not to make a police report and instead he would claim the damages from his company by claiming that this accident happened during work hours.
"He said that we would not need to make a police report, he just asked me to pose as his cousin and pay damages of RM2,000 first and he would get a reimbursement from his company for the sum as he would claim the accident occurred during his work hours," she said.
He had asked her to give him the money directly.
"I then received a WhatsApp message from a person known as Amy who wanted to verify if I was related to the con artist. She then told me that the claim amount for accidents was RM3,800 and that I owe the balance. I called Jack to find out if this is true and he said it is, he asked me to the bank in the balance of the money and only then will the claim be processed and I would be reimbursed," she said.
Trusting the con man, Lee banked in the balance money to an unknown account and an additional RM350 that Jack said he needed for his medical expenses due to his injury in the accident.
Amy then asked her for some more money amounting to RM6,000 in total and that is when Lee found something suspicious. When Lee refused to pay, Amy and Jack threatened saying that they would expose her on social media and report her for cheating insurance claims.
"I felt threatened and cheated and have lodged a police report on the matter," she said.
MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong said this is a new type of scam and urged the public to always make a police report whenever road accidents occur.
"Never settle between drivers, it is always easier to make a police report so that both parties can claim their insurance," he said.