SIBU: A nurse was stripped of RM154,800 after a series of convincing phone calls from scammers impersonating police officers left her believing she was entangled in a money-laundering case.
The unfortunate ordeal happened in February this year when the victim, in her 30s, received a call from a man claiming to be an officer from Kelantan police contingent headquarters (IPK).
He alleged that her name and IC number were linked to a money laundering case involving RM254,000.
Later, the call was transferred to several other individuals who also posed as police officers, telling the woman that she needed to ‘clear her name’ by transferring money into several bank accounts for investigation bail.
Sibu police chief ACP Zulkipli Suhaili said frightened by the accusations, the victim transferred RM154,800 into eight bank accounts belonging to unknown individuals.
“The transfers were made in eight transactions between Feb 25 and May 11.
“However, she later realised she had been scammed after she could no longer contact the suspects,” he said.
The woman filed a report with the Commercial Crime Investigation Division (CCID) yesterday (Nov 17), and the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating and dishonestly inducing the delivery of property.
In light of this, Zulkipli advised the public to remain cautious of calls claiming to be from authorities, financial institutions or government agencies, especially if asked to provide banking details or make transfers.
“Police will never instruct anyone to transfer money for investigation purposes,” he said.
For further assistance or verification, the public may contact the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) at 997 or check suspicious phone numbers and bank accounts via the Semak Mule portal at http://ccid.rmp.gov.my/semakmule/.
