Religious teacher, tour agent lose more than RM128,613 in online scams

KUANTAN: A religious teacher lost RM76,170 after being duped by a Macau Scam on Monday.

Pahang police chief Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf (pix) said the 55-year-old woman received a call from an individual who claimed to be a Touch ‘n Go officer in Kuala Lumpur and accused the victim of having six-month bill arrears.

He said the victim denied having the payment arrear and the call was later passed to an individual masquerading as a police officer who told she was also involved in drug trafficking and money laundering.

“The victim then appealed for the warrant to be postponed and revealed her 14-digit account number of all bank cards apart from being ordered to fill in banking information in a link provided.

“After filling in the bank information, the woman found five cash withdrawals from the accounts which resulted in losses amounting to RM76,170,“ he said in a statement today.

In another case, Ramli said a tour agent found more than RM52,443 disappeared after being duped in a fake part-time job offer via WhatsApp which promises a return of RM100 for every assignment carried out last Saturday.

He said after the 34-year-old victim expressed interest, the suspect sent a link to the man to join a Telegram group and was asked to purchase prepaid with the promise of a quick return.

“The victim then made five cash transactions into different bank accounts before being informed of a profit of 40 per cent and made four more transactions as instructed by the suspect resulting in a loss of RM52,443,“ he said.

According to Ramli, the two victims felt duped then filed police reports at the Temerloh and Jerantut district police headquarters yesterday and the cases were investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

Meanwhile, Ramli advises the public not to rent or give personal bank accounts to strangers or friends, as the account owner can be accused in court or may face civil lawsuits. – Bernama