KLUANG: A conman has been preying on the compassion of mosque congregants here, with a convincing but deceitful tale to swindle money from the faithful.
He would tell them that his family had just relocated to Kluang, but had been struck by tragedy.
"My father passed away in a private hospital. Now, we urgently need RM1,300 to cover the hospital fees and get his remains released," he would tell his intended victims.
Taman Delima mosque committee member Bahri Daud, said at least three mosques' "khairat kematian" (bereavement fund) committees in the district had been approached by the conman, while two fund committees had fallen victim to the scam.
In the first case, about a month ago, a man called a mosque khairat committee member, claiming his family had recently moved to a housing estate in Taman Bahagia, here.
He gave the mosque committee member a legitimate address and claimed his father had recently passed away.
However, the body was in a private hospital and he was short of RM1,300 to settle the hospital bill.
He claimed the body would not be released to family members if the bill was not settled in full, adding that the monetary help would be returned once the burial ceremony was concluded.
Bahri said the mosque's imam, moved by the man's plea, coordinated with the mosque's volunteer grave diggers to prepare a burial plot.
The imam also arranged to personally deliver the cash to the hospital to settle the outstanding fees and facilitate the release of the body.
However, there were no deaths reported at the hospital that day, and the man who had insisted that the cash be banked into his account did not show up.
The gravediggers had to cover the burial plot up, wasting their time and energy.
In the other incident, the mosque khairat committee leader who was fed with the same tale fell for it and made bank transfers to the tune of RM1,300.
He later went to the given address, only to find the house was empty and had been unoccupied since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in 2019.
Bahri said the third attempt was foiled when the imam who received the call refused to do an online transfer for the same RM1,300 sum.
The imam was adamant that he wanted to meet the man first and went to the address he was given only to find it unoccupied.
The scammer has since gone incommunicado.
Bahri said it was believed that the same man was behind the scam attempts and khairat committee members had sent out voice messages via WhatsApp to other mosques, warning them of the tactic.
Johor Islamic Religious Council chairman Mohd Fared Mohd Khalid said that to safeguard against fraudulent activities, bereavement fund administrators must conduct thorough verification before disbursing any money.
"They should verify the death certification and burial permits. The verification process needs to be rigorous to ensure the claim's legitimacy.
"When this verification process is done, the fund administrators can protect the resources intended for those truly in need," he said when contacted.
Fared explained that bereavement funds were established to assist with funeral expenses and alleviate the financial burden of grieving families.
"These funds help to support the grieving families during their loss of family members, but stringent verification processes are essential to prevent exploitation by unscrupulous individuals," he said.
Kluang police chief Assistant Commissioner Bahrin Mohd Noh said police had not received any reports about the incidents.
He advised victims to come forward and lodge reports.
He said scammers used various methods to get money, including tugging at the heartstrings of victims.
"If in doubt, leave out, and never do online bank transfers to strangers under any circumstances," he said.