By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, July 28: Two men lost an accumulative RM86,000 to two separate scam cases in Miri.
In a statement, Miri District Police Chief ACP Mohd Farhan Lee Abdullah said that in the first case, a man in his 30s, who works as a mechanic, received a phone call around noon on July 24 from a suspect claiming to be from the Perlis contingent police.
“The caller told the victim he was involved in a money laundering syndicate and was required to make a police report. The call was then transferred to a man claiming to be a police officer from the Kuala Lumpur Police Headquarters.
“The suspect instructed the victim to withdraw money from his bank account and transfer it to a third-party account provided by the suspect. The victim became suspicious of the instructions and, realising he had been scammed, lodged a police report at a nearby station. The estimated loss was RM79,000,” he said.
In the second case, the victim, a mechanic in his 20s, came across a Facebook account under the name ‘Yen Ni’ around 1.40pm on July 26, which was advertising repossessed cars at attractive prices.
“Interested, the victim contacted the seller via Facebook Marketplace and further communicated through WhatsApp. The scammer introduced themselves as an agent from ‘Sbarina Motor Group’ in Bintulu.
“The victim was given a link (https://sabrinamotorsgroup.com) that displayed a black 2016 Toyota Harrier. Interested in purchasing the car, the victim was asked to make a deposit and payment for the ownership transfer. The victim only realised it was a scam when he was asked to make further unreasonable payments. The estimated loss was RM7,000,” he said.
He added that both cases are being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code, which carries a penalty of imprisonment for a term of not less than one year and not more than ten years, with whipping and a fine upon conviction. — DayakDaily
