TELUK INTAN: A 46-year-old cook lost RM20,000 after falling victim to a WhatsApp video call scam in which fraudsters posed as police officers.
Hilir Perak police chief ACP Ahmad Adnan Basri said the victim received a call on Jan 25 from a man in police uniform, accusing her of involvement in money laundering.
She was later contacted by a ‘police inspector’ and a fake ‘deputy public prosecutor’ who convinced her that RM20,000 was needed for investigation but would be refunded.
“The victim transferred the money in stages on Jan 31 and was told to destroy the transaction proof.
“When asked for an additional payment for bail, she realised the scam and reported it to the police on Feb 5,” he told the media at the Hilir Perak district police headquarters here today.
In another case, Ahmad Adnan said a 53-year-old retired teacher lost RM64,218 to a fake lucky draw scam allegedly organised by a local bank on Facebook.
She unknowingly shared her banking details with the scammers and later found her account drained through 21 transactions to 16 different accounts.
“The bank managed to freeze the account to prevent further losses,” he said.
