Miri civil servant loses RM200,000 to phone scam impersonating authorities

MIRI (July 3): A local woman in her 30s has lost RM200,000 after falling victim to a phone scam involving individuals posing as police officers and officials from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

Miri police chief ACP Mohd Farhan Lee Abdullah confirmed that the Commercial Crime Investigation Division (BSJKD) here received a report regarding the incident yesterday.

“The victim, a civil servant, received calls from two phone numbers – 011-72650791 and 017-4525736 – in which the callers claimed she was involved in money laundering activities, which she denied.

“She was also told her bank account had been used for suspicious transactions and that her personal information had been misused by bank staff,” he said in a statement.

To ‘cooperate’ with the fabricated investigation, Mohd Farhan said the woman was instructed to take out a personal loan of RM220,000. She subsequently provided with full access to her bank account details.

“The victim only realised she had been duped when she discovered RM200,000 was missing from her account after checking with the bank,” he added.

Mohd Farhan said the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

Police have reminded the public to remain vigilant and not to disclose personal or banking information to unknown individuals over the phone, especially if they claim to be from enforcement agencies.

Members of the public who receive suspicious calls are advised to contact the nearest police station or the CCID Scam Response Centre at 03-2610 1559/1599.

The public is also advised to be wary of suspicious of investment advertisements promising unrealistically high profits in a short period.

They are encouraged to check veracity of such claims with Bank Negara at http://www.bnm.gov.my/financialconsumer-alert-list, or to contact the National Scam Response Centre ( NSRC) at 997 if they are victims of cyber fraud and have made money transfer transactions to any fraud syndicate.

The public can also check the suspect’s phone number and bank accounts through the Check Scammer CCID app or at the website https://semakmule.rmp.gov.my/ before making any financial transactions.

The public can visit the department’s official social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to get the latest information on scam modus operandi.