BATU PAHAT: A 61-year-old farmer fell victim to a phone scam, losing RM290,000 of his savings to fraudsters posing as government and police officers who accused him of "loaning" his bank account to criminals.
District police chief Assistant Commissioner Shahrulanuar Mushaddat Abdullah Sani said that the victim was first contacted on Aug 25 by a woman claiming to be an officer from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.
She alleged that his bank account had been flagged as a mule account used by scammers to receive illicit funds.
Despite the farmer's denial, the call was transferred to a man who claimed to be an investigating officer from the Terengganu police contingent's commercial crime investigation department.
"The so-called investigating officer instructed the victim to lodge a police report over the phone, during which he was coerced into revealing his bank account details," he said in a statement today.
The "officer" assured the farmer that he believed him to be a victim rather than a co-conspirator, promising assistance to prevent his bank accounts and assets from being frozen.
He also threatened court charges if the farmer did not cooperate.
Under the guise of aiding the investigation, the fraudster instructed the victim to transfer money from his account to several others, purportedly for safekeeping.
Between Sept 6 and 15, the farmer transferred RM290,000 in stages to six different accounts provided by the bogus officer.
Shahrulanuar said that the farmer filed a police report after being unable to contact the "officers" for a follow-up on the investigation.
The case is now being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
Police urge the public to exercise caution when receiving unsolicited calls, especially from unknown numbers, and to verify any suspicious claims with relevant agencies before engaging in financial transactions.