SHAH ALAM, Feb 9 — A former public university professor and an accountant fell victim to an online syndicate and suffered losses amounting to RM6.47 million, early this month.

Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said police received reports from the two victims about their losses and that investigations had been initiated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.

In the first case involving the 61-year-old professor, a suspect had contacted the professor, claiming that he was an officer from the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) and informed the victim that she was carrying out illegal gambling activities and also involved in money laundering.

"She however, denied her involvement in such activities but was directed to place two bank cards by the roadside for the suspect to pick up. She later realised that 262 transactions were carried out using the cards and involved RM1.43 million from her two bank accounts,” he said in a statement today.

Hussien said the second case involved a 55-year-old accountant who suffered losses amounting to RM5.04 million after being scammed of high returns through a cryptocurrency investment scheme.

"In the month of August, the victim was befriended by a man who had introduced himself as ‘Willian’ through the WhatsApp application. Willian had offered huge profits in a short term through the scheme.

"The victim who was attracted by the huge profits offered in a short-term, agreed to invest in the scheme and the victim was taught how to transfer money into an e-wallet account involving 143 transactions. After the transactions were done, the account was not accessible and the suspect had ‘disappeared’,” he said.

Hussein advised members of the public to not entertain telephone calls from unknown individuals and that police or other government departments will not carry out investigations related to bank accounts of individuals, especially online.

"The secrets of banking details and automatic cash withdrawal (ATM) details belong to individuals and such details should not be made known to others, especially to strangers.

"As for cryptocurrency, police urged members of the public to not be carried away by advertisements that offer high returns for the investments or shares through social media platforms. Members of the public must only invest in platforms registered with Bank Negara Malaysia,” he said. — Bernama