KUALA LUMPUR: The Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) has urged the people to be on the alert against Macau scam syndicates which have been actively cheating victims.
LHDN said since Jan 1 till May 27 this year, they investigated 556 cases involving losses of up to RM15.26 million from the syndicate members who disguised themselves as revenue board officers.
In a statement, LHDN said the syndicate members would claim that a company or business belonging to the victim they called has arrears in taxes which needed to be cleared immediately.
"The victim will deny the allegations and the syndicate members will then connect the call to another member disguised as a policeman, Bank Negara Malaysia officer or other enforcement officer to push the victim to lodge a report.
"The victims will then be told they are involved in money laundering, drugs or other criminal activities until they panic and later persuade them to surrender their Transaction Authorisation Code (TAC) or One Time Pin (OTP) numbers," it said.
The victims only realise they have been scammed after money from their back accounts has been transferred to a third party and the syndicate members could no longer be reached.
"We would like to reiterate that we never discuss tax matters over the phone but only through official emails or letters using the '@hasil.gov.my.' domain.
"Tax payers must ensure their income or real estate gains taxes are paid to the respective state revenue agencies or LHDN while stamp duty is paid to its authorised collectors," it said.
The people are urged to be more careful by verifying with LHDN on any suspicion calls, emails or letters by contacting Hasil Care Line or its officers at www.hasil.gov.my or go to the nearest branch.