Retiree in Kerian cheated of RM485,000 in parcel scam

IPOH: A 72-year-old retiree in Kerian lost RM485,000 after falling victim to a parcel scam.

Perak police chief Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said the woman, a retiree from a private sector initially received a call from an individual claiming to be from a courier company regarding a package that was unable to be delivered on Aug 4.

He said the individual had read the victim’s name and address correctly, and told the senior citizen that the parcel contained a credit card, a chip of an identification card, as well as an ATM card.

Comm Mohd Yusri said when the victim denied the matter, the suspect connected the call to another individual claiming to be a police officer from the Ipoh Police District headquarters, and the call was later transferred to a third suspect who claimed to be from Bukit Aman.

“The victim was fooled into believing that she was involved in human trafficking, and money laundering activities, and was threatened that she would be arrested, and jailed.

“The victim became scared, and followed the instructions of the scammers, by transferring her savings into a bank account provided to avoid her account being frozen.

“The suspect also promised that the money will be returned back to her once the investigations were over, and told her not to mention anything to anyone, to prevent any disturbances to the investigation,” he said in a statement on Tuesday (Sept 12).

Comm Mohd Yusri said from Aug 8 until Sept 6, the victim had carried out 34 transactions at a bank’s ATM machine in Kerian, and in Nibong Tebal in Penang to 11 different accounts.

“The victim only realised that she was cheated, when a relative came visiting while she was on her way to the bank.

“The victim told the whole story to the relative, and a police report was lodged on Monday (Sept 11) at about 11.40am,” he added.

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

He reminded the public not to be easily duped by calls received from unknown parties.

“Do not panic if the individuals introduce themselves as officers from enforcement agencies.

“Do not entertain them and disconnect the call immediately. There is no way enforcement agencies are able to connect calls to other agencies.

“All government related matters, calls will not be made, but instead official letters will be sent out,” he added.