KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 — The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) has uncovered a new modus operandi used by scammers who target fraud victims a second time by offering bogus services to recover their lost money.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (JSJK) director Rusdi Mohd Isa said the syndicate’s tactic involves impersonating representatives of the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) to deceive victims.
Based on records from 2025 to March 2026, six such cases have been reported, involving total losses of RM68,491.
Rusdi said the syndicate promotes its so-called recovery services through advertisements on Facebook before approaching victims via WhatsApp.
“The suspects claim they have the expertise to recover funds lost to scams but require victims to make an upfront payment,” he said in a statement.
Rusdi said victims, often desperate to recover their losses, are then instructed to make multiple payments to different bank accounts.
However, no refunds are ever received, and victims are instead asked for additional payments, only to later realise they have been scammed again, he added.
He said such cases have been reported across several states, including Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Terengganu.
“JSJK stresses that no individual or agency can guarantee the recovery of scammed funds easily, especially by charging any service fee,” he said.
He urged scam victims to immediately contact the NSRC hotline at 997 or lodge a report at the nearest police station to enable swift action. — Bernama