SHAH ALAM: A 73-year-old retiree lost nearly RM6 million after falling victim to an elaborate phone scam spanning several months.
Selangor Police Chief Datuk Shazeli Kahar said the victim received a call in May from a man claiming to be from the National Anti-Financial Crime Centre (NFCC) in Putrajaya, who told her she was involved in a money-laundering case.
The call was then transferred to another suspect posing as a senior police officer from the Sarawak contingent police headquarters, who instructed the victim to declare her assets and savings.
In June, the victim was told to open four bank accounts at Affin Bank, Alliance Bank, AmBank, and Bank Simpanan Nasional, then deposit her savings into these new accounts.
She was then instructed to place all her ATM cards in an envelope and leave it at a playground in USJ 22/1 while providing her banking information to the suspects.
The victim only realised she had been scammed after telling her child about the situation, by which time she had lost RM5,996,586.51.
Shazeli urged the public to be vigilant against scams involving impersonation of government officials online, stressing that authorities never conduct transactions over the phone.
He emphasised that all official dealings are carried out in person at police stations or relevant government offices.
The police chief reminded the public not to disclose personal information such as identity card numbers, OTPs, TACs, or passwords over phone calls or messages.
He also warned against transferring money to unknown individuals and advised checking the authenticity of suspicious calls by contacting the National Scam Response Centre at 997.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating. – Bernama