KUALA TERENGGANU: A retired teacher lost RM200,300 after falling victim to an elaborate phone scam involving fake insurance and police officers.
The 62-year-old former KEMAS teacher received a call on May 25 from a scammer pretending to be an insurance company representative.
The scammer falsely accused the woman of making a fraudulent insurance claim to create a sense of panic and urgency.
Her call was then transferred to another individual who claimed to be a police officer from Bukit Aman.
This fake officer told the victim she could avoid arrest by posting bail and surrendering her money to Bank Negara for a supposed investigation.
Feeling pressured and threatened, the victim transferred money from her Tabung Haji account into her personal bank account.
She was then coerced into revealing her confidential banking details to the scammers.
The victim proceeded to make multiple bank transfers totalling RM26,700 to four different accounts provided by the fraudsters.
She only realised she had been scammed when she discovered an additional RM173,000 had been illegally withdrawn from her account.
Police investigations uncovered 18 unauthorised transactions from her account to six unknown accounts between June 6 and June 19.
Kuala Terengganu police chief ACP Azli Mohd Noor confirmed the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
Authorities remind the public to be vigilant against such scams and never share banking details with unknown callers. – Bernama
