Two Retired Teachers Lose Over RM2 Million To Scammers

KUANTAN, Dec 31 (Bernama) -- Two retired teachers lost over RM2 million after falling victim to an online fraud syndicate last month.

Pahang police chief Datuk Seri Yahaya Othman said that the first case involved a 71-year-old retired male teacher who was lured by a Facebook stock investment advertisement promising a 30 per cent return.

Initially, the victim invested RM10,000. After reviewing the application provided by the suspect, he noticed that the purported investment profits were credited to his account.

Encouraged by the gains, the man proceeded to make 21 additional transactions, transferring funds into six different accounts specified by the suspect, ultimately incurring losses exceeding RM1.8 million.

Yahaya added that the victim became aware of the scam when he was asked to deposit an additional RM2.8 million and encountered repeated failures in attempting to withdraw the profits displayed on the application.

In a separate case, a 60-year-old retired female teacher lost more than RM333,000 to a phone scam perpetrated by an individual claiming to be an Etiqa Insurance agent.

Yahaya said the victim was initially informed that someone had made an insurance claim in her name. After denying the claim, she received another call from a person introducing himself as Sergeant Zaidi.

“The victim was accused of being involved in money laundering through a BSN account amounting to RM2.8 million,” Yahaya explained. However, the victim denied the allegation as she never had an account with the bank.

Despite her denial, the victim was instructed to visit a bank to change her registered phone number and later to transfer her funds into an account provided by the suspect, purportedly for investigation by Bank Negara.

Yahaya added that the victim was also directed to take out a bank loan and sell her jewellery, with the proceeds deposited into the suspect's account. She realised she had been scammed only after being asked to transfer additional funds.

Both victims have since lodged reports at the Temerloh and Raub district police headquarters. The cases are being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

-- BERNAMA