KUCHING: Two individuals suffered losses totalling RM656,342 after falling victims to phone and love scams.
The scams involved a 64-year-old man from Serian district and a 47-year-old woman from Miri.
Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Mohd Azman Ahmad Sapri said that the phone scam involving the 64-year-old man happened on March 7 after he received a call from the suspect claiming to be the police from the Kedah Contingent Police Headquarters.
“The victim was told that he was involved in money laundering and drug cases, and was later contacted by the suspect who told him to provide personal bank details, Amanah Saham Bumiputera as well as online banking details and password.
“The total amount lost was RM100,300 involving nine transactions to five bank accounts belonging to the suspect,” he said during a press conference here today at the Sarawak Police Contingent (IPK).
In a separate case, the 47-year-old woman was scammed for a total of RM556,042 after falling for a love scam.
Mohd Azman said that the victim fell in love with the suspect who claimed to be a heavy machinery supplier from Brisbane, Queensland.
“The victim was deceived by love and made forty-eight transactions to seven different bank accounts in between Jan 31 to 3 Feb,” he said.
He also stated that from Jan 1 to 7 March this year, the Sarawak Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) received ten police reports from victims related to love scam cases involving losses totalling RM269,000.
With that, the police chief reminded the public to stay vigilant against love scams, not to trust unknown callers and avoid dealing with strangers.
If anyone is a victim of scam, he or she can contact the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) at 997, CCID Scam Response Centre at 03-2610 1559 or 03-2610 1599.
The public can also contact the CCID Infoline via WhatsApp or SMS at 013-211 1222 for further action regarding online crime cases.
For further enquiries, the public may visit the official portal of the Royal Malaysian Police at mp.gov.my, the Commercial Crime Investigation Department at ccid.rmp.gov.my and follow the social media pages of @JSJKPDRM.
