KANGAR – The people were reminded today to always be cautious when dealing with strangers so that they don’t end up being victims of online scammers.
Raja Muda of Perlis Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail advised the public to always check or confirm with the relevant parties such as banks and police before sharing their personal information with strangers.
“Never let others use your bank accounts and check before buying items (online).
“Members of public who fall victim (to scammers) must not to delete proof of communication with these criminals such as emails, short message service (SMS), WhatsApp messages, telephone call log and so on to facilitate police investigation,” he said in a statement issued by the Perlis Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIPs) today.
Tuanku Syed Faizuddin also urged members of the public to immediately lodge a police report if they had been duped.
In the most recent case, a senior citizen lost a whopping RM1.8mil to a Macau Scam syndicate.
Selangor Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) chief Asst Comm Muhammad Yazid Muhammad Yew said the 66-year-old woman lodged a police report over the incident at the Petaling Jaya police headquarters on Friday (Dec 18).
“The woman received a call from a scammer posing as a Pos Laju personnel in April, informing her that she had a package with her name on it containing ATM and identification cards.
“The woman denied that the package was hers and her call was transferred to what she claimed to be the Sabah police headquarters to make a ‘report’,” he said in a statement on Friday (Dec 18).
ACP Muhammad Yazid said another scammer posing as a police officer told the victim that she was implicated in money laundering and scams.
“Afraid that she would be arrested, the victim followed the instructions given and transferred her savings to bank accounts provided by the suspect.
“The victim made transactions to 29 bank accounts,” he added.
On top of her savings, the victim also borrowed money from relatives and friends until the amount reached RM1.8mil.
ACP Muhammad Yazid said there are still people who fall victim to this tactic despite efforts to educate the public about such scams.
“If you receive any suspicious calls, refer the matter to the police, family members or friends before making any transaction,” he stressed.
Eight Chinese nationals linked to an online scam operating at a leading hotel here meanwhile, have been declared persona non grata, said Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Saiful Azly Kamaruddin.
They are the first group of foreigners involved in online scam cases to be declared as such.
Saiful Azly said the eight criminals were declared persona non grata on Dec 8 after they were convicted on November 4.
He said the process for action on the remaining 11 individuals, including a baby, was still ongoing.
Persona non grata is a person who is prohibited from entering a country after being found guilty of committing a serious criminal offence that cannot be pardoned while he or she is in the country.
“All of them who are in their 20s to 40s were arrested during police operations from October 22 to November 8,” he said at a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur contingent police headquarters here.
He said the police believed the syndicate had been operating between six months and a year and often changed its operation centre.
“The police also confiscated 34 units of mobile phones of various brands, two laptops, cash of various currencies amounting to RM214,596 and a multi-purpose Vellfire vehicle,” he said.
