KUANTAN: A university student lost RM32,115 after being duped by a scammer posing as a police officer who accused him of money laundering.
Acting Bentong police chief Deputy Superintendent Azmi Mahmod said the 18-year-old victim handed over cash and jewellery worth more than RM32,000 to a woman near a supermarket in Karak, Bentong.
He said the incident occurred on Oct 7, when the student received a phone call from someone claiming to be a police officer who accused him of involvement 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.
Azmi said the victim handed the items to a masked woman and was told not to inform his family or anyone else.
He said police arrested a 21-year-old local woman near the supermarket around 6.20pm last Saturday.
"Investigations revealed that the female suspect had been offered a job by the syndicate, which claimed she had been appointed as a member of the 'Police Special Actions Unit'.
"She was instructed to collect the cash and jewellery from the victim before handing them over to a third party arranged by the syndicate," he said.
Azmi said investigations were ongoing to determine the suspect's role and identify others involved.
In a separate case, Bera police chief Superintendent Zulkiflee Nazir said a retired engineer lost RM660,000 in a fraudulent stock investment scheme.
He said the 56-year-old victim received a WhatsApp message from an unknown individual on Feb 5 offering an investment scheme with a minimum entry of RM10,000 and a promised return of 10 per cent.
"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.
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