GEORGE TOWN: An engineer at a factory in Bayan Lepas near here lost RM336,760 after falling victim to a phone scam syndicate in a recent incident.
Penang police chief Datuk Hamzah Ahmad said the 35-year-old woman received a phone call from an unknown number while at work on March 25.
“A man introducing himself as a representative of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) claimed that her phone number had been linked to 33 police reports for various crimes before the call was supposedly transferred to the Sarawak Police Contingent headquarters, where she spoke to another officer.
“The second police officer claimed that she was involved in a money laundering case and ordered her to hand over all her money for investigation, assuring her that the money would be returned after it was completed. The suspect also threatened to issue an arrest warrant if she failed to comply,“ he said in a statement today.
Hamzah said the frightened victim followed the suspect’s instructions and transferred money online into 14 bank accounts from March 25 and June 9, until all her savings were drained.
He said when the suspect continued to demand more money, the victim realised she had been scammed and filed a police report yesterday.
