Female administration manager loses RM329,400 to Macau scam

KUCHING: A local woman became the latest victim of Macau scam with reported losses of RM329,400.

According to Sarawak Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) chief Supt Mustafa Kamal Gani Abdullah, the 52-year- old complainant who is an administration manager had received a call on March 27 this year from a Chinese man who introduced himself as representing Putrajaya Customs Department.

The Chinese man told the woman that there were GST debts a mounting to RM51,076, recorded from June 12, 2017 to January last year, linked to a company opened in Penang.

“The victim denied this, stating that she never registered or even had any company in Penang. The Chinese man then transferred the line to a ‘police officer’ from Penang police headquarters.

“This was when the woman was told about another case involving drug syndicates and money laundering,” Mustafa Kamal said in a statement here yesterday.

The woman denied all the allegations, but the police officer ordered her to cooperate with him – however, he also ordered her to keep it a secret, as he was investigating the cases.

Mustafa Kamal said the woman was then asked by the officer to withdraw all her money and transfer it into five different bank accounts.

“Between April 2 and 5, there were 31 transfers of RM329,400 made into five different bank accounts, which the officer alleged as belonging to the auditors of the Auditor-General’s Department.

“After making the payments, the victim tried unsuccessfully to contact and send messages to the suspect through WhatsApp. The woman then realised that she had been deceived and lodged a police report immediately,” said Mustafa Kamal.

CCID Sarawak chief reminded the public to be extra cautious with calls from certain parties claiming to represent the police, or other government departments and agencies.

“Beware if any party says you are involved in cases related to outstanding summonses, GST debts, money-laundering, money earned from the public, or names used for company’s registration. Do not panic and do not believe these calls straight away.

“The police or any government agency would never ask people to transfer money into any personal account,” he stressed.

Mustafa Kamal also advised the public to visit the official portal of Royal Malaysia Police (rmp.gov. my), the CCID (ccid.rmp.gov.my) and also the official Facebook pages to obtain the latest information and advice regarding financial scams.