ISKANDAR PUTERI: A company manager lost a whopping RM570,174 after being duped by a scammer who had posed as her younger brother.
Iskandar Puteri district police chief, Assistant Commissioner Rahmat Ariffin, said the woman, 31, realised that she had been conned after contacting her brother to inform him that she had transferred over the money.
She was instead told by her brother that he made no such requests.
Rahmat said the victim lodged a report at the Iskandar Puteri police station at 4.20pm yesterday after realising she had been tricked.
"The woman initially received a WhatsApp message from who she believed was her brother. The 'brother' had used a different phone number.
"He had asked her to transfer RM570,174 to him to facilitate a business transaction.
"After transferring the funds, she then contacted her brother. To her shock, her brother denied asking her for any money," he said in a statement.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
"We advise the people to not easily trust any messages or phone calls from unfamiliar numbers. Check first before acting," he said.