GEORGE TOWN, July 7 (Bernama) -- An elderly retired bank manager lost RM680,781 after falling victim to a phone scam syndicate posing as cybersecurity officers and police.
Penang deputy police chief Datuk Mohd Alwi Zainal Abidin said the 80-year-old lodged a report at the Timur Laut Commercial Crime Investigation Division after realising he had been scammed.
On June 12, the victim received a call from someone claiming to be from “Cyber Security Putrajaya,” who said his phone number had been blacklisted for allegedly spreading false information.
The call was then transferred to a supposed police officer from the Alor Setar Police Station, who claimed the victim’s bank account was involved in money laundering.
“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,” he said in a statement today.
On June 26, after checking his accounts, the victim discovered that all the money had been transferred to unknown third-party accounts. The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for fraud.
-- BERNAMA
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