SIBU: A man was left RM55,410 poorer after being duped into paying for a winning lottery number that would purportedly make him richer.
According to Sibu Police Chief ACP Zulkipli Suhaili, the victim who is in his 40s had transferred the sum to an account provided by a man (the scammer), who claimed the victim had won a lottery prize of RM225,000.
“The victim received the said call from an unknown number on June 16. The caller said that he was calling from Lin Je Kong Temple, Perak,” he said in a statement today (June 22).
Zulkipli said the suspect told the victim that before the prize money could be claimed, he needed to pay for insurance and bank processing fees.
“Without hesitation, the victim made 12 transactions to five bank accounts as directed by the suspect,” he added.
Zulkipli said that after completing all the transfers, the suspect instructed the victim to make another payment of RM16,580.
“At this point, the victim became suspicious and realised he had been scammed, prompting him to file a police report on June 20,” he said.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
