Retiree Loses Over RM420,000 To Phone Scam

DUNGUN, Jan 6 (Bernama) -- A retiree lost RM420,410.48 after being deceived into believing he was involved in a money laundering case by individuals posing as representatives of Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and the police.

Dungun police chief Supt Maizura Abdul Kadir said the 70-year-old victim received a call on Nov 26 from someone claiming to be a representative from TNB Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, who alleged that his name had been used to register a TNB meter at an address in Pahang.

However, the victim denied the claim and was then subsequently purportedly connected to the Pahang contingent police headquarters, where he spoke to a man claiming to be a sergeant, before his call was transferred again, this time to Bukit Aman.

“The complainant was then informed that his name was linked to a money laundering case and was instructed to liaise with two police officers to resolve it.

“He was later told to transfer all his money for verification purposes, purportedly to determine whether the funds were linked to money laundering activities,” she said in a statement today.

Maizura said the victim later made 11 transactions into seven different bank accounts and even handed over his bank card and personal identification number (PIN) to two individuals posing as police officers at a location near his home.

“The complainant then realised that he had been scammed when his money was not returned as promised,” she said.

The victim lodged a report at the Dungun district police headquarters’ Commercial Crime Investigation Division yesterday and the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.

-- BERNAMA