KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 10 — A lecturer claimed she lost RM331,000 after being deceived by a ‘phone scam’ syndicate, on May 9.
Bernama reported South Johor Bahru district police chief ACP Raub Selamat saying the 49-year-old woman received a call from a man masquerading as a ‘Central Database Hub (Padu) officer who informed her that she had received assistance amounting to RM1,200.
He said the victim then received a call from a man posing as an officer from the Perak police contingent headquarters (IPK) and stated that she was allegedly involved in money laundering, but the victim denied it.
“After that, the victim received a call from someone with the title ‘Datuk’ who pretended to be an officer from the same IPK and instructed her to transfer money for security purposes, while the investigation was carried out.
“The victim made 13 transactions to several local accounts amounting to RM331,000 from June 9 to July 26,” he said in a statement today.
Raub said the victim tried to contact the suspect after the payment was made but found that the line had been blocked and suspected that she had been duped before making a police report yesterday.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for “cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property”.
In Malaysia, there is no Amla enforcement agency. Instead, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has an Anti-Money Laundering Division responsible for conducting investigations under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Act 2001.
