A recent scam incident has seen a local civil servant lose RM677,565 to a syndicate purporting his involvement in illegal activities, such as money laundering and drug trafficking.
According to China Press, the man, aged in his 40s, reported the fraud to the Seberang Perai Utara (SPU) district police on Tuesday(25 July).
Transferred RM677 from his six accounts
The initial contact came from an individual claiming to represent Pos Laju, who informed the victim that a registered parcel addressed to him contained illicit items, specifically five bank cards from various financial institutions.
“The individual then claimed to forward the call to an alleged police officer at the Perak contingent police,” said SPU district police chief ACP Mohd Asri Shafie.
According to ACP Mohd Asri, the supposed police officer claimed that the civil servant was implicated in a drug trafficking and money laundering case.
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The fraudulent officer coerced the victim into revealing his banking details and instructed him to move his money to other accounts to avoid legal repercussions.
Between June 7 and July 4, the victim transferred RM677,565 across six accounts provided by the criminal syndicate.
Case under investigations
It was only on Monday that he realized he was the victim of a scam after checking the Semakmule application, which revealed a history of fraudulent activities associated with the provided bank accounts.
“This case is currently under investigation in accordance with Section 420 of the Penal Code, which relates to cheating,” said ACP Mohd Asri.
The police are now working to identify the owners of the bank accounts linked to the criminal syndicate.
ACP Mohd Asri also advised the public to remain vigilant about such fraudulent calls and not to believe any unverified claims about their involvement in criminal activities.
He encouraged the public to cross-check any dubious calls with the relevant authorities and to utilize the Semakmule application to avoid becoming victims of similar scams.
