A university student and a retired engineer in Pahang have lost more than RM690,000 in separate phone and investment scam cases.
KUANTAN: A university student lost RM32,115 after being tricked by a syndicate member who pretended to be a police officer and accused the victim of involvement in money laundering.
Acting Bentong police chief DSP Azmi Mahmod said the 18-year-old male victim handed over cash and jewellery worth more than RM32,000 to a woman near a supermarket in Karak, Bentong.
He said the incident unfolded on Oct 7 when the victim received a phone call from someone claiming to be a police officer who alleged the student was involved in money laundering.
“The suspect threatened to arrest the victim if he did not follow instructions, causing him to panic and hand over cash and jewellery belonging to his parents to settle the case,” he said in a statement today.
He said the victim handed the items to a masked woman and was told not to inform his family or anyone else.
Azmi said the department conducted an operation and arrested a 21-year-old local woman at about 6.20 pm last Saturday near the supermarket.
“Investigations revealed the female suspect was offered employment by the syndicate, which claimed she was appointed as a member of the ‘Police Special Actions Unit’. She was directed to collect the cash and jewellery from the victim before handing them to a third party arranged by the syndicate,” he said.
He said investigations are ongoing to determine the suspect’s role and to identify other individuals involved.
Meanwhile, in a separate statement, Bera police chief Supt Zulkiflee Nazir said the department received a report from a retired engineer after he lost RM660,000 in a fraudulent stock investment scheme.
He said the scam unfolded on Feb 5, when the 56-year-old man communicated with an unknown individual via WhatsApp who offered a stock investment scheme starting at RM10,000 with a promised 10 per cent return.
“Believing the offer, the victim invested RM660,000 in seven transactions into three bank accounts under different company names.
“The victim received no returns as promised and realised he had been scammed when he was repeatedly asked to deposit more money,” he said.
Police are investigating both cases under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.