TUMPAT: Ten villagers in Kelantan have been cheated by `keldai akaun' (mule account) syndicate members with losses amounting to thousands of ringgits.
State police chief Datuk Shafien Mamat said the majority of the victims were elderly women from remote areas in the state.
He said this syndicate would approach their victims, especially those who are staying alone, by posing as officers from several agencies, including the Welfare Department.
"The syndicate will claim that the victims were selected to receive financial assistance from the government and to enable them to get the money, the victims must hand over their bank cards to the `officers'.
"They told the victims that they will help withdraw the money and will later pass it to the victims.
"Unaware that their accounts were being used for fraudulent transactions and believing that they will get a `healthy return', the victims hand over their bank cards to the syndicate members," he said.
Speaking to reporters after closing a one-day Community Policing Programme here today, Shafien said police took these offences seriously as the victims include those from the low-income group.
"The syndicate members are smart. They will change their modus operandi often and will target uneducated people as their victims particularly those who are staying alone," he added.
Earlier in his speech, Shafien said drug involvement in Kelantan has become a never-ending problem and none of the 10 state districts is drug-free.
"Being a state close to the border is among the reasons for drug activities continuing to take place in Kelantan.
"But this will not damper the spirit of police and other relevant agencies. We will put a stop to this menace and co-operation from local community leaders like the village heads, are needed," he added.
About 50 village heads from three state seats in the Tumpat constituency attended the programme which was jointly organised by the police and the state Information Department.