GEORGE TOWN, Sept 4 — A retired sports coach has lost RM838,328 after he fell victim to a phone scam syndicate that deceived him into believing he was involved in money laundering.
Penang police chief Datuk Azizee Ismail said the 75-year-old man received a phone call from someone impersonating a police officer from the Commercial Crime Investigation Department telling him his name had been blacklisted for suspected involvement in criminal activities and spreading false information.
“The victim denied the allegation and was then instructed to file an online report. After the so-called police officer verified the victim’s details, the suspect informed him that he was involved in a money laundering case and requested all of his savings account information.
“The suspect instructed the victim to transfer money from his fixed deposit account to another account that was also under the victim’s name. On Aug 11, the suspect again directed the victim to hand over all his bank cards along with the PIN numbers,” he said in a statement today.
He said the suspect claimed this was for the investigative purposes of Bank Negara Malaysia and instructed the victim to place all the bank cards in an envelope and leave it near the security guard post at his residential area.
Azizee said the victim followed the suspect’s instructions and, after leaving the envelope, went to the bank to check his accounts, only to discover that all the money had been transferred into a third-party account unknown to him.
He said the victim, realising he had been scammed, lodged a police report at the Commercial Crime Investigation Division of the Timur Laut district police headquarters here yesterday.
“Further investigation is ongoing, including tracking the involved syndicate network. The case is being probed under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating,” he said.
He urged the public to be wary of suspicious phone calls, particularly those asking for personal or banking information, and to verify such requests with the appropriate authorities without delay. — Bernama
