Taiping housewife loses RM181,650 to phone scam

A housewife from Taiping has lost RM181,650 after falling victim to a phone scam.

Perak police chief Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said the 55-year-old woman’s ordeal began when she received a call on Feb 21 from several individuals who deceived her into believing that she was involved in illegal activities including money laundering.

“The victim received a phone call from an individual claiming to be from a courier company regarding a parcel containing three identity cards, two ATM cards and three passports that she had sent to Kuantan, Pahang.

“The call was then transferred to another courier company staff, who informed the victim that a police report had been lodged against her and asked her to check the report sent through WhatsApp,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Mohd Yusri said the victim was then connected to a ‘police officer’ who informed her that she was suspected of being involved in money laundering activities.

“The victim then received a video call from the third suspect to record her statement regarding the matter. The victim was shocked when she was told by the suspect that she had sold her bank account to a bank manager for RM150,000 for illegal activities.

“The victim was then ordered to transfer all her savings into several accounts provided by the suspect for investigation purposes to prevent her money from being frozen,” he said.

Mohd Yusri said the victim, who was scared and panicked, made 20 transactions totalling RM181,650 to four bank accounts.

The woman lodged a police report Saturday after she realised she had been cheated by the syndicate.

The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.