Housewife falls for phone scam again, this time losing RM98,000

IPOH: Despite losing about RM30,000 to a phone scam about three years ago, a housewife in Hilir Perak fell victim to a similar scam again.

This time, the 64-year-old woman’s Tabung Haji and Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd accounts have been cleared out, losing about RM98,000 to the scammers on Aug 2.

Hilir Perak OCPD Asst Comm Ahmad Adnan Basri said the woman had panicked after hearing that action could be taken against if she failed to comply following a phone call.

“The scammers had identified themselves as policemen and accused her of being involved in money laundering.

“She feared that she could be arrested and her bank accounts frozen if she did not follow their instructions,” he said in a statement.

ACP Ahmad Adnan said the woman had, on Aug 1, received a call from an unknown caller, who identified himself as ASP Firdaus, who accused her of being involved in money laundering activities worth RM1.5mil.

“The call was then connected to a ‘Sjn Mohktar’ from the Ipoh district police who claimed to be the one responsible for interrogating her.

“On Aug 2, Sjn Mohktar instructed the victim to transfer her money into two local accounts for investigation purposes,” he said.

“On Aug 13 at about 4pm, the victim was contacted again by ASP Firdaus who told her to transfer RM15,000 as a processing fee to get back the RM98,000, but the victim no longer has any money left,” he added.

ACP Ahmad Adnan said the woman lodged a police report on Aug 16 at about 9.40pm.

“The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code,” he added.

In reminding the people to be careful of phone scams, ACP Ahmad Adnan urged people to ignore unknown numbers or use the Whoscall or Truecaller mobile app to identify callers.

“Do not panic easily when receiving calls from a scammer.

“Enforcement agencies will not threaten or give the option to settle any matter outside,” he said.