CAMERON HIGHLANDS: A senior citizen suffered RM105,000 in losses after he was duped by a member of a Macau scam syndicate who impersonated a police officer.
The incident started in Dec 24 last year when the 75-year-old victim received a WhatsApp message from a ‘police officer from the Pulau Pinang Police Contingent Headquarters’.
Pahang Commercial Crime Investigation chief Superintendent Mohd Wazir Mohd Yusof said the suspect claimed there was an arrest warrant and assets freezing order against the victim.
“The suspect then asked the victim to deposit RM30,000 as security that he wouldn’t be arrested. The senior citizen then did several transactions to several accounts out of fear.
“The transactions were done between Dec 24 until Jan 16 to four different accounts totalling to RM105,000,” he said in a statement today.
He added that the suspect also asked the victim to burn the transaction receipts for the latter’s safety.
“The suspect also asked the victim to wait for further action from the police, but until today, he did not receive any calls on the matter.
“The victim felt that he was cheated and immediately lodged a report at the Cameron Highlands police headquarters yesterday,” he said, adding that the police are tracing the phone number used by the suspect and also the account holders.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.