Admin clerk loses RM19,500 savings in parcel scam — police

MIRI: A 28-year-old administration clerk lost RM19,500 of her life savings in a parcel scam early last month.

Sarawak Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) chief Supt Mustafa Kamal Gani Abdullah said the victim had received a friend request from someone supposedly named ‘Alex’ on Instagram, who claimed to live abroad but did not reveal where.

After accepting the request, ‘Alex’ said he wanted to be better acquainted with the victim.

“The man told the victim that he had sent a parcel containing valuable items including bags and jewellery to her. He also informed her that there was money in the parcel,” Mustafa said in a press statement yesterday.

On Jan 10, the victim received a WhatsApp message from someone supposedly called ‘Lenna’, who claimed to be from the Customs Department in Kuala Lumpur.

“The victim was ordered to pay a sum of money for payment of the courier service, insurance, and delivery charges in order to release the parcel delivered by ‘Alex’ to her.

“The victim then deposited money totalling RM19,500 into two different bank accounts from Jan 24 to Feb 18 through three transactions,” said Mustafa.

After transferring the money, the victim was then told to make an ‘anti-money laundering’ payment of RM53,100.

“However, the victim did not make any payment afterwards when suspecting something was wrong and feeling that she had been deceived. Even the items allegedly sent by her Instagram friend still had not been received.

“The victim suffered RM19,500 in losses,” added Mustafa.

He pointed out the police advised and warned the public about parcel scams through the newspapers and social media almost daily, but some continued to be deceived by syndicates.