KUCHING (July 28): A businessman from Serian lost about RM635,000 after he fell victim to a phone scam recently.
In a statement today, Sarawak deputy police commissioner Dato Mancha Ata said on July 17, the victim in his 60s was contacted by a suspect claiming to be a policeman from Perak.
“The suspect told the victim that one of his bank accounts was used to commit a crime and that a warrant of arrest would be issued,” said Mancha.
He said the victim was also told the ‘police’ would investigate his bank accounts.
Mancha said the victim was further contacted by a second suspect on July 21, who ordered him to open two new bank accounts to transfer all his savings into.
“The victim complied and made a total of 35 transfers totalling to about RM635,000 to six different unknown bank accounts,” he said.
The victim was also warned not to tell anyone of his recent banking activities.
“The victim, after realising that he was scammed, approached and lodged a police report on July 27, ” Mancha added.
He advised the public not to entertain phone calls from unknown persons and to immediately notify their partners, friends, or family members about the phone calls received, as well as to check with the police station, banks, or related agencies for confirmation.
The public are also advised not to provide their banking information to any unknown individuals or parties and to refrain from registering phone numbers given by the suspects for online banking.
Mancha also stressed the public should not be afraid or panic when allegations are made against them by the suspects.
“Contact the National Scam Response Centre on 997 if you are a victim of cyber scams (phone scam, love scam, e-commerce, non-existent loans) and if you’ve just made a money transfer to any of the suspects’ bank accounts or e-wallets.
“It is also recommended to download the Whoscall app via the Google Play Store or Apple Store to enable you to make a decision on whether to answer the phone calls. The collaboration between the police and app developers enables the numbers listed in the Semak Mule System database to be marked by the app,” he said.
