KUANTAN: A trader who panicked after receiving an arrest warrant against him through WhatsApp lost more than RM400,000 of his savings after being duped by scammers within a span of three days.
The 42-year-old from Jerantut was tricked by individuals posing as officers from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and a police officer.
Pahang police chief Datuk Seri Yahaya Othman said the victim's nightmare began on Oct 22 when he received a phone call from a caller who introduced himself as an MCMC officer.
"The bogus officer claimed that the victim's phone number was linked with fraud activities before the call was transferred to another person who claimed to be a police officer.
"The policeman told the victim that there was an arrest warrant against him for alleged involvement in money laundering activities. The victim panicked when he received the arrest warrant through WhatsApp.
"The policeman assured the victim that the matter could be sorted out if he allowed his bank account to be probed. The victim was instructed to transfer all his savings into bank accounts provided by the police officer," he said in a statement today.
Yahaya said the victim made 51 transactions amounting RM446,800 into 11 separate bank accounts between Oct 22 and Oct 24.
The victim lodged a police report yesterday after the bogus policeman did not return the cash as promised.
Yahaya advised the public to be careful when receiving calls from unknown individuals claiming to be representing enforcement agencies. He urged people to always check on https://semakmule.rmp.gov.my before making any online cash transactions.