Two separate scams in Terengganu cost victims nearly RM190,000, with a civil servant losing RM119,000 to a phone scam and a housewife losing RM70,731 to a fake job scheme.
KUALA BERANG: A civil servant in Hulu Terengganu lost RM119,000 to a phone scam.
Hulu Terengganu police chief Supt Sharudin Abdu Wahab said the 43-year-old victim was contacted last November by a woman posing as an insurance officer.
The suspect claimed the victim was implicated in money laundering and needed to pay RM188,000 to avoid arrest.
“The victim took out a personal loan and transferred RM110,000 to a new account as instructed by the suspect,” Sharudin said in a statement.
He added that the victim also provided her full bank details under the pretext of security verification.
The victim panicked upon discovering RM100,000 had been siphoned from her new account yesterday morning.
She lodged a police report after realising she had been cheated, with the case being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
In a separate case in Kuala Terengganu, a housewife lost RM70,731 to an online part-time job scam.
Kuala Terengganu police chief ACP Azli Mohd Noor said the 28-year-old victim was first sent an unsolicited gift parcel on Jan 2.
A suspect posing as a Shopee representative then contacted her to offer lucrative part-time work.
“The victim was assigned simple tasks such as reviewing products through provided links,” Azli said.
He explained that to start the tasks, she was required to pay fees that would be refunded along with high returns.
The victim used her entire savings and borrowed from family to pay the fees to the suspect.
She lodged a police report yesterday after failing to recover her money or receive the promised earnings.
Azli confirmed the victim made seven transactions totalling RM70,731 to various accounts over two days.
This case is also being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
