A 75-year-old woman in Kuching was cheated of RM706,000 by scammers impersonating government and Bank Negara Malaysia officials.
KUCHING: A 75-year-old woman lost RM706,000 after falling victim to a phone scam syndicate whose members impersonated government officers and Bank Negara Malaysia officials last week.
Kuching police chief, ACP Alexson Naga Chabu, said the woman was at home on Aug 28 when she received a call from a man identifying himself as ‘Sergeant Chong’.
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The suspect claimed the woman’s identification card was linked to fraud offences and money laundering, before transferring the call to another individual on the number 019-7963249, who introduced himself as ‘Mr. Ling’.
She was then instructed via WhatsApp to transfer funds to two company accounts for a purported Bank Negara Malaysia investigation, leading her to make two transactions totalling RM706,000.
Alexson said the victim only realised she had been cheated after recounting the incident to a friend. A police report was subsequently filed, and the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code. – Bernama
