KOTA BARU: A 38-year-old trader lodged a police report early this month claiming that he suffered losses worth RM692,500 to a phone scam syndicate.
Kelantan police chief Datuk Muhamad Zaki Harun said the victim claimed that he first received a phone call on Jan 1 from a man who claimed to be a digital communications officer from Putrajaya and accused the victim of being involved in a money laundering case.
"The victim then was asked to call two men who claimed to be police officers. The officers told the victim that he was involved in money laundering and drug cases.
"One of the men introduced himself as ACP Ismail and later ordered the victim to register with Bank Negara Malaysia and furnish his personal information and bank account details," he said.
Speaking to a Press conference here today, Zaki said the caller then asked the victim to transfer all of his money to his Affin bank account and two other accounts belonging to unknown individuals to help put an end to the investigation.
He said the victim later transferred money to the three banks in stages between Jan 30 to Feb 6.
"He also took his money from his ASB account and transferred it into his Affin account," he added.
Zaki said the victim only realised he had been cheated after he found that all his money in the Affin bank account had gone missing several days later.
The victim immediately lodged a police report and police are investigating the case under Section 420 of the Penal Code.