KUCHING, Feb 28: A retired elderly woman from Kuching, in her 70s, was scammed of RM390,000 by scammers posing as police officers who threatened her with allegations of involvement in money laundering.
Sarawak Commissioner of Police Dato Mancha Ata disclosed that the incident began when the elderly woman received a call last November from an unknown individual claiming to be a police officer from Perak.
“The scammers accused the victim of participating in money laundering activities through a bank account registered under her name.
“They instructed her to transfer her funds to undisclosed accounts for purported audit purposes by Bank Negara, assuring her that the money would be returned upon completion of the audit,” he said in a statement today.
From mid-November 2023 onwards, the victim initiated 17 transactions to two separate bank accounts as instructed.
It was only after repeatedly failing to retrieve her funds that she realised she had been deceived. — DayakDaily
