KUANTAN, Oct 30 — A woman trader lost nearly RM500,000 after being duped by fraud syndicate members impersonating a ministry official and police officer.

Pahang police chief Datuk Seri Yahaya Othman said the 51-year-old victim was duped into believing that she was involved in money laundering activities.

He said that in April, the victim received a phone call from a suspect posing to be a ministry official, who claimed that she was involved in money laundering activities.

The victim was then referred to a ‘police officer’, who asked her to make cash transfers to avoid being arrested and to clear her criminal record.

"Between May 1 and Sept 27, she made cash transactions into five different accounts and suffered financial losses totalling RM492,290.

"She realised that she had been duped when the suspects did not return her money, which she had sourced from her savings, Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributions and loans from friends,” he said in a statement today.

Yahaya urged the public to verify bank accounts and suspicious phone numbers at https://semakmule.rmp.gov.my before making any transactions. — Bernama