Macau Scam: Vegetable farmer loses almost RM800,000

KUANTAN: Panicked that he will be arrested caused a vegetable gardener in Cameron Highlands to lose RM792,669.45 after being deceived by a Macau Scam syndicate.

Pahang Police Chief Datuk Seri Yahaya Othman said the 54-year-old victim claimed the scam started after he received a phone call on June 19 from a man who introduced himself as an employee of a courier company.

"The suspect told the victim to speak to a second suspect who disguised himself as a police officer because the items addressed to him contained credit cards, identification cards and passports.

"The 'police officer' informed that an arrest warrant has been issued against the victim in relation to an investigation into money laundering which will cause his bank account to be frozen," he said in a statement here today.

Yahaya said the victim who was afraid of the threat claimed that he had been instructed to transfer money from his savings account to five different accounts given by the second suspect allegedly for the purpose of investigation.

However, he said the victim began to feel suspicious after failing to contact the suspect to ask about the progress of the investigation, causing him to go to the police station to lodge a report yesterday.

Yahaya advised people who receive suspicious calls to immediately check with the police or relevant government agencies to avoid becoming victims of fraud.

They can also check the account numbers given and phone numbers (of the callers) at https://semakmule.rmp. gov.my before making any financial transactions.

-- BERNAMA