BINTULU: An employee of information technology (IT) at a company here suffered a loss of RM1.18 million due to a phone scam.
According to a statement by Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Mohd Azman Ahmad Sapri, the scam unfolded through a series of phone calls where the scammers pretended to be government officials.
The incident started on May 22 of this year when a 55-year-old woman received a call from an unknown man who claimed to be from Putrajaya. The caller alleged that the victim had registered a phone number in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, which was being used to spread false information about the Ministry of Health (MOH).
During the call, the victim was transferred to several individuals who identified themselves as ‘Sgt Wong’ and ‘Insp Khoo’ from Kota Kinabalu.
These individuals falsely implicated the victim in money laundering and claimed that the national bank needed to investigate her finances. To facilitate the investigation, they instructed the victim to open a new bank account in her name and transfer her funds into it. Feeling panicked and coerced, the victim complied with their demands.
Between May 23 and June 9, the victim opened three different bank accounts at local financial institutions. Under pressure, she transferred a significant amount of RM881,000 and RM300,000 from her Employees Provident Fund (EPF) savings and bank savings, respectively, into these newly opened accounts.
Mohd Azman added that ‘Insp Khoo’ also advised the victim to share her banking information with the scammer and destroy the three bank cards by breaking and discarding them.
Only after confiding in her husband did the victim realize that she had been deceived.
“Taking immediate action, she contacted the bank and discovered that multiple transactions totalling RM1.18 million had been made from her three bank accounts to an unknown individual’s account,” he said.
The case is currently being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code, which deals with cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property.
If convicted, the offender could face imprisonment for up to 10 years, whipping, and a fine.
