Four women lose RM56,940 to scams in two days

MIRI: Four women here who fell victims to parcel and loan scams lost a total of RM56,940 between April 25 and 26.

In a statement yesterday, Sarawak Commercial Crime Investigation Department head Supt Mustafa Kamal Gani Abdullah said the first case involved a 34-year- old housewife who became victim of a parcel scam.

According to Mustafa, on March 3, the victim befriended a man on Facebook who claimed to be from the United Kingdom.

“The suspect told the victim that he will be sending her gifts through parcel. On April 25, the victim received a call allegedly from the Customs Department informing her that a parcel had arrived but was withheld pending payment,” said Mustafa.

The suspect then told the victim that for the parcel to be released, she had to pay RM3,800 for tax and delivery.

The victim then made payment of RM3,800 in two transactions to an account given to her.

She however became suspicious when the account number given belonged to someone else.

In the second case, a 28-yearold clerk suffered RM6,000 loss in a parcel scam on April 26.

Mustafa said on April 14, the victim had befriended a man who said he is from United States and after a few days of getting to know each other, the suspect told the victim that he was sending a parcel containing a watch, a handphone and cash of USD15,000.

“On April 26, the victim received a text message allegedly from a courier service to pay RM6,000 as tax. The victim transferred the amount to an account number given to her in stages,” said Mustafa.

The suspect then asked the victim for another RM8,500 for an anti-terrorism certificate but the victim was reluctant.

She only realised she had fallen victim to a parcel scam when the suspect did not give her the parcel’s tracking number she requested.

In the third case, a 46-yearold contractor was made to pay RM3,900 for a non- existent loan in a loan scam reported on April 25.

“The victim came across a loan advertisement on Facebook. She became interested and wanted to loan RM25,000.

“She then came in contact with two men through messages asking for her personal documents and asking her to pay RM3,900 for insurance to an account number given,” Mustafa said.

The suspect then asked the victim to pay another RM2,500 but the victim became suspicious and asked the suspects why she had to make upfront payment.

She then realised she had been scammed.

Meanwhile, the fourth woman, a 44-year- old sales assistant, was made RM43,240 poorer in a loan scam.

The victim had received a message on WhatsApp offering loans.

“The victim was immediately interested and wanted to loan RM50,000. The suspect however told the victim that she had to pay RM1,240 to an account as deposit.

“She then received a call from the suspect who told her that she was blacklisted and that she need to pay some amount to clear her name,” said Mustafa.

The victim then made several more transactions to the account given which resulted her to lose a total of RM43,240.

“She only realised she had been cheated when the suspect asked her to pay another RM5,000 and RM2,500 which she refused,” added Mustafa.