PORT DICKSON: A 31-year-old nurse has been cheated of RM94, 000 in a Macau scam here, says district police chief Supt Aidi Sham Mohamed.
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He said the victim received a call from a man impersonating an Inland Revenue Board officer who said she had tax arrears.
“The man told the victim that she had a company registered under her name which had tax arrears amounting to RM38, 600.90 and although the victim denied this the call was apparently transferred to the Kuantan police contingent, ” said Supt Aidi Sham.
He added in a statement on Wednesday (June 9) that the call was transferred so that she could file a report online, saying that the victim then spoke to someone who claimed to be an Asst Comm of Police.
Supt Aidi Sham was then told to download a MyBNM application on her mobile phone in which she was asked to fill in her personal details including her identity card number.
She was told this was necessary to ensure her bank savings were secure and that her so-called tax arrears were not deducted from her savings.
“However, when she checked with her bank later, she found that her savings in one of her accounts totalling RM94, 000 had been transferred to several other accounts. She then realised that she had been cheated and lodged a report on June 5,” he said.
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He added that the case is being probed under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating which provides a jail term of between one and 10 years and a fine upon conviction.
Supt Aidi Sham advised the public not to reveal their banking details to strangers to prevent from being scammed.
The term “Macau Scam” was coined because it is believed that it originated from Macau or that the first victims came from there. This has never been confirmed.
The scam often starts with a phone call from someone pretending to be an officer from a bank, government agency or debt collector.
The scammer will then claim that the potential victim owes money or has an unpaid fine, often with a very short window of less than an hour, to settle the payment or face “dire consequences”.
These unsuspecting victims will then be asked to make payments to get them off the hook. – The Star