KUANTAN: A lecturer lost RM269,993 after falling victim to a phone scam in which she was tricked into surrendering her bank card and pawning her jewellery.
The 49-year-old woman was threatened with an arrest warrant and imprisonment over an alleged money-laundering offence, prompting her to make payments purportedly for bail.
Pahang acting police chief Datuk Azry Akmar Ayob said the victim's ordeal began on April 20 when she received a call at her workplace from a man claiming to be an officer from the National Financial Crime Centre (NFCC).
"The caller claimed the victim's personal information had been misused and linked to an alleged World Coin Trading investment scam. The call was then transferred to a police officer, who claimed she was involved in a money-laundering case.
"She was threatened with an arrest warrant, the freezing of her bank accounts and imprisonment before being instructed to surrender her automated teller machine (ATM) card and make payments purportedly for bail," he said in a statement today.
Azry said the victim, who did not have sufficient cash, borrowed from several people and pawned her jewellery before being instructed to hand over her ATM card at a location specified by the suspects.
"The victim transferred RM43,000 to six different bank accounts between Aug 29 and Sept 13, as instructed by the suspects. Upon checking her bank statement, she discovered seven other transactions involving transfers totalling RM226,993 to five different accounts.
"She realised she had been cheated and lodged a police report yesterday. Her ATM card remains in the suspects' possession," he said.
Azry said the case was being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
He advised the public not to surrender their ATM cards, personal identification numbers or banking details, or make payments in response to instructions received through suspicious phone calls.
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