KUCHING: A family here was allegedly threatened with violence after an unexplained RM200 entered their son’s bank account before scammers demanded RM8,888 in repayment.
Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Public Complaints Bureau chief, Milton Foo, said the case appeared to be another scam in which money is deposited into victims’ accounts before they are harassed with inflated repayment demands.
Foo said the family’s 19-year-old son, who recently completed secondary school and now works as a waiter, denied ever applying for an online loan, borrowing money or sharing his banking details with anyone other than his employer.
Foo said RM200 was transferred into the teenager’s Maybank account on July 20 without his knowledge or consent.
The family only discovered the transaction after the teenager’s mother received a call yesterday (July 23) demanding RM8,888, prompting him to check his account and lodge a police report.
He said only the teenager’s parents received calls and WhatsApp messages from the alleged scammers, who threatened to send ‘local Ah Long’ to their home if the money was not paid.
Foo added that the teenager’s father also received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number addressing him by his full Chinese name, raising concerns over how the scammers had obtained the family’s personal information.
“The family wants the police to investigate who transferred the RM200 into the account and how these individuals obtained their personal details,” he said at a press conference today at Milton & Co. Advocates.
Describing the incident as part of a growing trend, Foo said syndicates were exploiting fear and intimidation to extort money from innocent victims.
“This is another act of fraud in the name of borrowing. These gangsters use WhatsApp and other mobile applications to intimidate, extort and even threaten to burn houses if victims do not pay,” he said.
Foo urged the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) to thoroughly investigate such cases and called on the federal government to establish a special task force to combat scam syndicates employing intimidation and extortion.
He also urged Members of Parliament to treat the issue seriously, noting that the alleged debt had risen from RM200 to RM8,888 within four days.
“You cannot imagine RM200 becoming RM8,888 in just four days. They simply make up an amount and demand payment,” he said.
Foo advised the public not to give in to such demands and to report similar incidents to the police immediately, warning that victims who pay could become targets for further extortion.
