Unemployed Woman Loses RM62,000 To Phone Scam

JERTIH, June 27 (Bernama) -- A woman lost RM62,000 after being duped by a phone scam syndicate posing as a police officer yesterday afternoon.

Besut district police chief Supt Azamuddin Ahmad @ Abu said the 19-year-old unemployed woman answered a phone call belonging to her father from an individual who introduced himself as a representative from Touch ‘n Go headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

“The individual claimed that the victim’s father had a RM25,000 summons related to a Touch ‘n Go account, then the call was supposedly connected to the Perak police contingent headquarters and spoke to a police officer.

“The victim was further shocked when he was told her that a bank account had been opened in her father’s name involved in a money laundering and drug case,” he said in a statement today.

Azamuddin said the suspect asked the victim to pay RM60,000 if she wanted to clear his name and because she was afraid, the victim sold jewellery belonging to her mother, who is a retired teacher, to get money for the payment as instructed.

The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code, he said.

-- BERNAMA