By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Dec 10: A 61-year-old woman from Kuching has fallen victim to a scam, losing over RM92,000 after being falsely told that she was implicated in a RM7 million customs case.
Kuching District Police Chief ACP Alexson Naga Chabu said the syndicate deceived the victim by claiming she had unclaimed goods that had been seized in Kuala Lumpur.
“The suspect then transferred the victim’s call to another individual who introduced herself as Puan Lydia from the Anti-Money Laundering (AMLA) Investigation Division.”
He said the suspect instructed the victim to transfer money for purported Bank Negara investigation purposes into three different bank accounts, involving 19 transactions amounting to RM92,100.
“The victim realised she had been deceived after the suspect asked for additional payments to ‘settle the case’,” he said in a statement yesterday.
He added that phone scam cases using similar tactics have surged this year. Between January 1 and December 9, the Commercial Crime Investigation Division recorded 98 such cases with total losses of RM6.96 million.
The case has been classified under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
He also issued a warning to prevent similar incidents, advising members of the public not to entertain suspicious calls, to safeguard personal information, verify dubious numbers through the Semak Mule portal, and seek assistance from the nearest police station.
For assistance or reports, the public may call the JSJK Sarawak Hotline at 011-62890089 or email kjsjkswk@rmp.gov.my, as well as contact 997 National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) which operates 24 hours. — DayakDaily
