Datuk Mancha Ata
KUCHING (Dec 6): A teacher from Saratok was made around RM150,000 poorer after she fell victim to a phone scam, which started on Oct 19 this year.
Sarawak police commissioner Datuk Mancha Ata said the victim in her early 30s filed a police report yesterday (Dec 5).
“The victim received a call on Oct 19 from an unknown individual who introduced herself as ‘Puan Maisarah’ from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC),” he said in a statement today.
He said the caller told the victim that there was a complaint saying her phone number had been used to create false advertisements around Seremban, Negeri Sembilan.
Mancha said the victim was then connected to several other individuals, who instructed her to transfer her savings to third party bank accounts for Bank Negara to investigate.
“The victim, who panicked, then made a total of 19 transactions totalling around approximately RM125,000 to seven bank accounts between mid-October to mid-November,” said Mancha.
He said the victim was then contacted on Dec 4 by the suspects requesting her to withdraw another RM29,000 from her bank account and to leave the cash at a P-junction in Saratok.
The victim complied with the order and left the money in bushes at the P-junction.
Mancha said the victim later returned to the area to look for the money but it was no longer there.
“At that moment, the victim realised she had been cheated and had suffered losses amounting to about RM150,000,” he added.
