PETALING JAYA, July 9 — Rattled by a ‘police officer’s’ warning that she had committed an offence, a 90-year-old woman ended up losing RM3.83 million.

Petaling Jaya District Police Chief ACP Nik Ezanee Mohd Faisal said in April this year, the victim received a telephone call allegedly from Pos Malaysia that there was a parcel containing her identity and bank cards. 

"The victim refuted this and the call was transferred to an individual claiming to be a police officer from the Perak Contingent Police Headquarters who told the victim she was involved in a money-laundering case and would be arrested,” he said in a press conference here today.

"Worried, the woman then obeyed the suspect’s instructions to make cash transactions to seven different company accounts from April 20 to June 15 in order to avoid arrest.

The victim later realised she had been scammed into losing millions of ringgit and lodged a police report on June 28.

Nik Ezanee said police have arrested eight men and a local woman aged between 30 and 43 years between July 1 and yesterday.

"Seven company accounts in four states, namely Selangor, Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Sabah with RM1.4 million have also been frozen,” he said, adding that police were still tracing the remaining RM2.43 million.

The case was being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

Nik Ezanee said the syndicate targeted senior citizens or people who were less informed about cyber crimes.

In a separate development, 13 Chinese nationals and a local person were detained in a raid on several houses in Tropicana Avenue here on Tuesday, on suspicion of conducting an online investment scam involving cryptocurrency.

He said the suspects who were aged between 19 and 36 years were being remanded for four days until tomorrow. — Bernama