Retired teacher loses RM317,500 to Macau Scam
BATU PAHAT: A retired teacher lost her savings of RM317,500 to a Macau Scam syndicate last Tuesday.
Acting Batu Pahat district police chief Supt KS Mender Singh said it began when the victim, aged 60, received a telephone call from a man claiming to be a court staff at about 10.30 am, who then connected the call to a policeman.
He said the woman was told that she had arrears in credit card payment and that the card had been used by someone to commit crime and that her name was also connected to drug smuggling and money laundering activities.
“Scared with all the accusations made against her, the woman did as was told, including giving the details of her bank account, which she was told was needed to facilitate investigation by the police.
“She was then asked to make a cash deposit of RM317,500, with a promise that the money would be returned upon completion of the investigation, which would take less than 30 minutes.
“The woman realised that she was cheated after she did not get back the money after 30 minutes as promised, and her attempts to contact the telephone number given by the suspect went futile,” he said in a statement yesterday.
The woman then lodged a report at the Batu Pahat police station.
In another development, Mender Singh said efforts were being made to eliminate gambling activities in Batu Pahat with 27 raids conducted last week during which 27 individuals were detained.
“The police are now working with the Batu Pahat Municipal Council to track down premises that are used as venues for illegal gambling activities,” he added. — Bernama