A SENIOR citizen lost RM1.3 million after falling victim to a Macau scam syndicate early last month.

Petaling Jaya district police chief ACP Mohamad Fakhrudin Abdul Hamid said the 60-year-old woman was contacted by an individual, who impersonated a bank officer, alleging that her credit card had been used to purchase bitcoins on a website.

He said the woman denied performing such transactions and had given her personal details to the caller, who also claimed to be a Bank Negara Malaysia representative, to help her lodge a police report.

“The victim received a copy of the police report at 9.02am on the next day via WhatsApp and was asked to provide the details of all of her bank accounts for renewal purposes,” he said in a statement today.

“On May 10, the victim made an inquiry with Bank Negara and was informed that the call she received was fake.”

Mohamad Fakhrudin said investigations found that the victim had provided the information on seven of her bank accounts to the caller, adding that the syndicate often targets senior citizens who lack knowledge and exposure to today’s cybercrime. – Bernama, May 17, 2021.