‘COPS’ CON WOMAN OF RM90,000

Victim was told she was on police’s wanted list

AWOMAN here lost RM90,000 after she was conned into believing that she was wanted for being involved in a moneylaundering case.

The 44-year-old received a call from a man, who claimed to be a bank executive on Thursday, saying that she had an outstanding loan from the bank amounting to RM3,376.

Her details were said to have been used to apply for a loan from the bank’s branch in Ipoh, Perak.

South Klang district police chief Assistant Commissioner Shamsul Amar Ramli said the victim denied having applied for the loan, but the “bank executive” told her that he would transfer the call to the Perak police headquarters.

“The victim talked to a woman, who claimed to be a sergeant. The ‘sergeant’ confirmed that her name was used to apply for a loan. The victim was then asked to read out her MyKad number, and told that she was on the police’s wanted list for being involved in a money-laundering case, along with another man.”

The victim denied the allegation, but the sergeant directed the call to another man claiming to be an inspector.

The “inspector” told the victim that she had to surrender her money to be audited and assured her that it would be returned after the investigation, failing which could result in her being arrested for 45 days for not cooperating with the police.

For the money transfer, the man asked for her account details, as well as her online banking username and password.

The frightened woman gave the man her company’s banking details. She soon received a transaction authorisation code on her mobile phone, which he made her read out.

The “inspector” convinced the victim that the money would be transferred to the Audit Department for verification, and if there was no problem, it would be returned to her.

Shamsul said the transactions took place nine times, with the “inspector” assuring her that the funds would be returned last Friday at 4pm before ending the call.

The victim later told her neighbour, who was a police personnel attached with the South Klang’s Commercial Crime Investigation Department, about the call.

Shamsul said the policeman believed that the woman was conned and advised her to lodge a report.

The woman also received a call from the bank saying that she had performed nine transactions to an unknown account. Police are tracking down the perpetrators.

In a separate case, a septuagenarian lost RM9,500 after he was duped into believing that he won a car in a lucky draw in Kelana Jaya on Friday.

The 78-year-old man was putting groceries into his car at the parking lot of the hypermarket when a man approached him asking to look at his receipt. The man then said the victim had won a car and took him to Bukit Tinggi here to “claim his prize”.

“In Klang, the man asked for the victim’s bank cards claiming that he wanted to transfer some cash winnings. The victim handed over his cards and their personal identification numbers, as well as two mobile phones to the man,” Shamsul said.

The victim was asked to wait while the man collected the car on his behalf. After waiting for three hours, the victim realised he had been scammed.

Checks with the banks revealed that RM5,000 was cashed out and a RM4,500 transaction was made with his credit card.

The case is being investigated under Section 402 of the Penal Code for cheating.