SANDAKAN: A civil servant here was left RM12,000 poorer after she was duped by a scammer impersonating a policeman from the Bukit Aman police headquarters, on Friday.
The victim, 26, received a phone call from the scammer who claimed that she was involved in drugs and money laundering activities.
District police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Azhar Hamin said that the scammer had asked the woman to pay money in order to ‘settle’ the case.
"The victim followed the caller's instructions and deposited money into two separate bank accounts.
"After realising she has been deceived, the victim lodged a police report.
“We advise the public to immediately contact the nearest police station should they receive such a call to avoid being cheated," he said.
Mohd Azhar noted that the latest incident shows that Malaysians are still easily conned by such calls, despite the launch of several awareness campaigns on the modus operandi of Macau scam syndicates.
On Dec 13, a public university student lost RM43,470 to a Macau scam syndicate after receiving a call on Dec 7.
As with the latest case, the 22-year-old was contacted by a police impersonator who told her that her telephone line had been used for illegal gambling and money laundering activities.
The scammer then threatened the victim and asked her to pay a sum of money to avoid action being taken against her.