KUCHING: Panic after being falsely accused of involvement in a money laundering case led a local woman to lose RM370,000 to a scam syndicate posing as police officers and Takaful insurance representatives.
The 61-year-old received a call on Apr 11 from an unknown individual claiming to be from a Takaful insurance company.
During the conversation, she was allegedly told that a fraudulent insurance claim had been made at KPJ Damansara in Kuala Lumpur under her name before the call was supposedly connected to another individual posing as a police officer.
Kuching police chief ACP Alexson Naga Chabu said the scammers then claimed that the woman was linked to a money laundering investigation, causing her to panic and comply with their instructions.
“Believing the threats to be genuine, the victim handed over her banking details and was instructed to change her ATM card information using details provided by the suspects.
“She was later directed to make several transfers through a cash deposit machine (CDM) into two different bank accounts, while additional transactions were also made involving her own personal account.
“The transactions eventually amounted to RM370,000,” he said.
However, the woman realised she had been deceived after the syndicate continued pressuring her to make further payments.
She then reported the incident to Kuching Commercial Crime Investigation Division (CCID) yesterday (May 19).
Alexson said the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating and dishonestly inducing the delivery of property.
The public are reminded to remain cautious when receiving suspicious calls, especially those involving alleged police cases or financial matters.
They are also advised not to disclose personal or banking information to unknown callers and to verify suspicious bank account or phone numbers through the official Semak Mule portal at https://semakmule.rmp.gov.my.
Suspicious activities can also be reported to the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) hotline at 997 or the Sarawak CCID via WhatsApp at 011-62890089 or email at kjsjkswk@rmp.gov.my.
