By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Oct 22: A 54-year-old local woman lost RM71,000 after falling victim to a sophisticated phone scam syndicate that impersonated officers from Etiqa Takaful and the police earlier this year.
Kuching District Police chief ACP Alexson Naga Chabu said the victim received a call around 3.30pm in March 2025 while she was in Sejingkat from an unknown individual claiming to be from the headquarters of Etiqa Takaful.
“The caller informed the victim that she had made a health insurance claim. After the victim denied this, the call was allegedly transferred to an ‘investigation officer’ from the Ampang Police Station who accused her of being involved in money laundering activities,” he said in a statement late Tuesday (Oct 21).
Fearing she could be prosecuted, the victim was instructed to make several payments for what was described as a “financial investigation fund” and “reporting fund” to clear her name.
Between May 30 and Oct 4 this year, the victim made 14 transactions totalling RM71,000 into 11 different bank accounts provided by the suspect.
Alexson said the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating and dishonestly inducing the delivery of property, which carries a punishment of imprisonment between one and 10 years, caning, and a fine upon conviction.
He disclosed that between Jan 1 and Oct 20 this year, the Kuching Commercial Crime Investigation Division has opened 90 investigation papers involving similar phone scam tactics, with total reported losses amounting to RM4.6 million.
“The public is urged not to be easily deceived by calls from unknown numbers,” Alexson stressed.
He also reminded the public to remain calm if they receive such calls and to hang up immediately.
“Enforcement agencies cannot transfer calls directly to other government agencies. All government dealings must be conducted officially at the relevant government offices, not through online or phone calls,” he explained.
The police further advised the public never to transfer money to unknown accounts or disclose their bank account details to strangers.
For any fraud-related advice or to report a suspected scam, contact the National Scam Response Center (NSRC) at 997. — DayakDaily
