GEORGE TOWN: An 80-year-old retired bank manager was cheated out of RM680,781 after falling prey to a phone scam involving fraudsters impersonating cybersecurity officials and police officers.
Penang deputy police chief Datuk Mohd Alwi Zainal Abidin confirmed that the victim lodged a report at the Timur Laut Commercial Crime Investigation Division upon discovering the deception.
The scam began on June 12 when the elderly man received a call from an individual claiming to represent “Cyber Security Putrajaya.” The caller falsely accused him of spreading misinformation, stating that his phone number had been blacklisted.
The call was then redirected to another fraudster posing as a police officer from the Alor Setar Police Station. This individual alleged that the victim’s bank account was linked to money laundering activities.
“To clear his name and avoid arrest, the victim was instructed to open two new bank accounts. Between June 19 and 23, he transferred a total of RM680,781 into those accounts.
“The scammer also told him to place his ATM and credit cards, along with bank documents, into an envelope and leave it on a Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) electrical box near a bank in Tanjung Bunga,” said Mohd Alwi.
On June 26, the victim checked his accounts and found that all the money had been siphoned off to unknown third-party accounts. Authorities are investigating the case under Section 420 of the Penal Code for fraud.
