KLUANG: A 54-year-old civil servant lost RM119,000 to phone scammers posing as government enforcement officers who accused her of involvement in drug trafficking and money-laundering activities.
The victim lodged a police report on Aug 23 after she discovered that 12 online transfers amounting to RM119,000 had been made from her bank account.
District police chief Assistant Commissioner Bahrin Mohd Noh said on May 8, the victim received a call from an unknown number claiming to be from CyberSecurity Malaysia.
The caller claimed that her bank account had been red-flagged due to irregularities, and transferred the call to a "police officer" in charge of investigating drug and money-laundering cases.
The "police officer" then accused her of involvement in illicit operations that had incurred losses totalling RM2.68 million.
He then told her to provide her banking information via a link that supposedly connected to Bank Negara Malaysia's official mobile application, claiming it was necessary to prove innocence.
She promptly followed the instructions.
Bahrin said when the victim received bank notifications alerting her to 12 withdrawals on the night of June 5, she tried to contact the "officers" in question, but the phone numbers had been terminated.
CyberSecurity Malaysia is the national specialist agency under the Digital Ministry's purview.
"The agency's personnel are unable to transfer calls directly to the police, while police officers will never ask for one's bank account details while conducting investigations, especially in telephone conversations," Bahrin said today.
He reminded the public to exercise caution and never reveal their banking details nor click on links provided by unidentified parties.
"It's best to verify the authenticity of such calls and stay informed on the latest commercial crime tactics by following the police's social media channels on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok," he said.