IPOH, Sept 14 — A woman was poorer by RM350,100 after being duped by a syndicate claiming that she was promoting illegal investments.

Ipoh District Police chief ACP Abang Zainal Abidin Abang Ahmad said the incident took place on Aug 12 when the 37-year-old victim was contacted by an unknown number, with the caller posing as an official from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

"The victim was told that she had 44 misconduct complaints against her for distributing or disseminating illegal investments through her phone number.

"The call was then forwarded to another suspect, who posed as a police officer. The suspect ordered the victim to take out a bank loan to settle the criminal matter,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Abang Zainal said that following the incident, the victim checked her account and found that money had been transferred to several unknown accounts.

"The victim then lodged a police report,” he said, adding that the money she lost was from her savings and the bank loan she took.

He said the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating and that it carries a prison sentence of between one and 10 years, with whipping and a fine, upon conviction.

"The public is advised not to panic easily or believe any allegations via phone calls from unknown individuals,” he said. — Bernama