SIBU: A senior citizen here lost RM3,000 to a scammer who posed as her neighbour through the WeChat application.
District Police Chief ACP Zulkipli Suhaili in a statement today (Monday) said that on July 15, the 60-year-old woman received a message on the WeChat application from someone who pretended to be her neighbour, asking for a RM3,000 loan.
“She then asked her daughter to transfer the money in two online transactions through DuitNow,” he explained.
The next day, Zulkipli said, the victim called her neighbour but was shocked to learn that her neighbour had never sent a message to borrow money.
“The victim, accompanied by her 27 -year -old daughter lodged a police report on Saturday evening (July 16) after realising that she had been deceived when her neighbour claimed his WeChat account had been hacked by a stranger.
Hence, Zulkipli reminded the public to be more vigilant and not easily fall for such deception.
He said it may be the latest tactic of scammers to use photos of friends or acquaintances for their activities.
“The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
“The public needs to confirm it by calling their friends’ real phone number. They also need to be careful in sharing personal information on social media so as not to be misused by fraud syndicates,” he said.
The public is also urged to contact the CCID Scam Response Center at 03-26101559/03-26101599, or download the mule check application at http://semakmule.rmp.gov.my and follow the Facebook page @cybercrimealertrmp or @jsjkpdrm for more information.
