IPOH: A businessman in Taiping suffered a loss amounting to RM418,200 after being cheated by a phone scam syndicate member impersonating a police officer.
Perak police chief, Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri, said that police received a report about the incident from the complainant, who is a 36-year-old local, at 4.07 pm yesterday.
Preliminary investigation, he said, showed the victim had received a phone call from a man who introduced himself as 'Insp Hazizi' (suspect), at 10am, on Feb 27.
The victim was informed by the suspect that his name had been involved in a criminal case, in addition to sending an arrest warrant issued in the victim's name via the WhatsApp application.
"The complainant (victim) was also told by the suspect that he had checked with Bank Negara Malaysia, and found that the complainant had a fixed deposit in the bank.
"The complainant was instructed to convert his fixed deposit to a regular savings account," he said, in a statement today.
Mohd Yusri said the victim was unsure how the suspect managed to find out about his fixed deposit information, as he had never given any money to the suspect before.
The suspect then told the victim that he must pay the money as instructed, if he wanted to avoid legal action.
"Due to fear and anxiety, from Feb 27 to March 26, this year, the complainant made seven transactions, to six different bank accounts, totalling RM418,200," he said, adding that after realising he had been cheated, the victim lodged a police report, and a case is currently being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
Mohd Yusri advised the public not to easily panic upon receiving calls from unknown numbers, and the police will not call anyone and threaten to arrest someone, as well as every government business will be conducted at the respective department or agency, and not online. -- Bernama