IPOH: A clerk in Hutan Melintang lost about RM445,000 after falling victim to a phone scam.
Hilir Perak OCPD Asst Comm Ahmad Adnan Basri said the victim, 45, fell victim to scammers posing as an online shopping company representative and the police.
ACP Ahmad Adnan said the victim received a call on July 24 from a man who identified himself as a representative of an online shopping company and claimed that she was running an unlicensed business.
“After denying the matter, the victim was told to lodge a police report before the call was connected to another person who identified himself as Sjn Badrul.
“The victim was then accused of being involved in money laundering activities and there was an arrest warrant for her,” he said in a press statement on Thursday (Oct 10).
“Believing what she has been told, the victim then transferred hers and her mother’s entire savings into two bank accounts, for investigation purposes.
“She was also promised that the money would be returned to her once investigations were completed,” he added.
ACP Ahmad Adnan said the woman had waited about two months for the money to be returned but to no avail.
“She tried and failed to call Sjn Badrul before lodging a police report on Wednesday (Oct 9),” he added.
ACP Ahmad Adnan reminded the people to be careful and ignore calls from strangers or unknown numbers.
“People should not panic when receiving calls from a scammer.
“The people can use Whoscall or Truecaller mobile apps to identify callers,” he said, adding that enforcement agencies would not call to threaten people.
“Always check with the relevant agencies if there are doubts and talk to spouses, friends or family members if they received such calls to get their views,” he said.
“People should also never share or give banking details to strangers no matter the situation.
“Call the National Scam Response Centre hotline at 997 or check bank accounts given by the scammers on or the Semak Mule app,” he added.
