KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 5 — A retired woman lecturer was fleeced of RM1.8 million after receiving a call from a purported Telekom Malaysia officer accusing her of being involved in online gambling and money laundering.

Kuala Lumpur Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) deputy chief Supt Tan Poh Cheok said the 80-year-old victim lodged a police report on Monday after realising that she had been cheated.

On October 1, the caller told her to make several cash transfers amounting to RM730,000, apart from asking her to hand over her ATM card.

Following that, the victim discovered that large sums had gone missing from her account and she lost RM1.8 million in total, Tan said in a statement today.

The public are reminded not to disclose their account details and OTP/TAC numbers to anyone on the telephone even if they claim to be from investigating agencies.

"Report any suspicious activity to the Kuala Lumpur police hotline at 03-2146 0584/0585 or any nearby police station,” Tan added. — Bernama