SEREMBAN: A 47-year-old bank agent lost almost 105,000 RM in a phone scam here.
State Commercial Crime Investigation Department superintendent Aibee Ab Ghani said the victim received a call from a woman on Wednesday (December 29) claiming to be an officer at another bank.
“The victim was informed that an amount of RM 4,663 had been used on his credit card to purchase Bitcoin.
“The call was then apparently transferred to someone who identified themselves as Sarah from Bank Negara,” he said.
Superintendent Aibee said “Sarah” told the victim she was being questioned because several questionable transactions had been made under her name.
The call was again transferred to a male suspect who asked the victim for his bank details, including all of his other credit cards.
He was also told to change personal identification numbers at the ATM.
“The victim voluntarily gave all the information without realizing that it was a scam,” he said.
Superintendent Aibee said the victim decided to check his bank accounts soon after and was shocked to find that RM 104,000 had been withdrawn from his bank account.
The case was being investigated under article 420 of the Criminal Code for cheating.
The offense is punishable by imprisonment from one to 10 years, flogging and a fine if convicted.
The term “Macau Scam” was coined because it is believed to originate from Macau or that the first victims came from there. This has never been confirmed.
The scam often begins with a phone call from someone posing as an agent of a bank, government agency, or debt collector.
The scammer will then claim that the potential victim owes money or has an unpaid fine, often with a very short window of less than an hour, to settle the payment or face “dire consequences”.
These unsuspecting victims will then be asked to make payments to bail them out.
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