ADMIN OFFICER LOSES OVER RM200,000 TO PHONE SCAM

KUALA TERENGGANU, Nov 4 (Bernama) -- A 31-year-old male administrative officer lost RM220,000 after falling victim to a phone scam syndicate last September.

Kuala Terengganu District Police Chief ACP Azli Mohd Noor said the victim claimed he received a call on Sept 3 from a man introducing himself as an officer from the Kuala Lumpur Maybank Anti-Money Laundering (AMLA) Criminal Investigation Team.

He said the caller informed the victim that he had allegedly opened a Maybank account in Johor, which was found to have been used for money laundering activities.

“The call was then connected to an individual identifying himself as Sergeant Khairudin from the Johor Police Contingent Headquarters,” he said in a statement today.

Azli said the victim was instructed to disclose his personal details, including his bank, Tabung Haji, and Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) account information.

He was later introduced to another individual known as Rashid, who claimed he could help resolve the issue.

“The victim was told to withdraw RM30,000 from his ASB and Tabung Haji savings and transfer the money to a bank account provided by the suspects on Sept 14. He was also instructed to take out a personal loan and subsequently transferred RM190,000 to another account on Oct 8 and 14,” he said.

Azli added that the victim only realised he had been duped after he failed to contact the suspects to obtain updates on the so-called investigation.

He said the case was being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.

-- BERNAMA