IPOH, Sept 13 — A 62-year-old woman is the latest victim of a phone scam in Perak after being cheated of RM1.4 million when she fell prey to a syndicate posing as courier company staff and police officers, three years ago.

Perak police chief Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said the victim, from Taman Wah Keong, lodged a police report yesterday.

"On March 27, 2020, the complainant received a phone call from an unknown individual claiming to be a courier company staff, saying there was a parcel for her but there was a problem with it.

"She then made a verification through a fake ‘Sabah contingent police headquarters’ phone number which was provided by the caller and was informed by a ‘police officer’ that she was implicated in a money laundering and drug case,” he said in a statement here today.

He said she was shown a court arrest warrant in her name and during the three years she was in communication with five individuals impersonating various ‘police officers’.

Mohd Yusri said the victim revealed all confidential information about her bank accounts and digital wallets to the suspects and followed their instructions to transfer funds to a number of bank accounts under other individuals’ names.

"She only realised she had been cheated after waiting all this time, since 2020, for one of the suspects to meet her in Ipoh,” he said.

He said the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code and advised the public to be wary of suspicious phone calls, especially those claiming to be from a government agency. — Bernama