KUANTAN, Nov 3: A retired woman lecturer lost more than RM200,000 after falling victim to a phone scam.
Pahang police chief Datuk Seri Yahaya Othman said the 59-year-old academician initially received a phone call from an individual impersonating an insurance company representative, who told her that there was a claim worth RM68,000 involving her.
The caller then connected the retiree to other individuals posing as a police officer and a Deputy Public Prosecutor, alleging that she (the lecturer) was involved in a money laundering case.
“The retiree was then instructed to open a new bank account and to transfer all her money into the new account, supposedly for investigation purposes. She then made 10 cash transactions using her own savings and from personal loans between April 9 and June 12,” he said in a statement.
Yahaya said the former lecturer realised she had been duped when the suspects again demanded money from her, and she lodged a report at the Kuantan Police Headquarters yesterday.
— BERNAMA