A RETIRED civil servant in Sibu lost more than RM1.63 million of her savings after falling victim to a Macau scam syndicate.

Acting Sibu district police chief Collin Babat said the victim received a phone call from a man claiming to be an insurance agent on October 27.

He said the victim was told by the suspect that she had an unsettled insurance claim involving an accident that occurred in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur.

“The call was then connected to another person who identified himself as Sgt Razif and told the victim that an arrest warrant had been issued against her for her involvement in money laundering activities,” he said in a statement today.

Collin said Sgt Razif offered to help the woman settle the case and instructed her to open two bank accounts to “facilitate an investigation by Bank Negara Malaysia”.

He said the victim followed the suspect’s instructions and transferred her money into the two accounts on November 10 before giving the suspect the banking details.

The woman only told her brother about the matter last Tuesday and upon checking her accounts, she found that 52 withdrawals amounting to RM1.64 million had been made.

The woman realised that she had been duped and lodged a police report on Wednesday.

In Teluk Intan, a primary school teacher was conned of RM216,000 by a Macau scam syndicate.

Hilir Perak Police chief Ahmad Adnan Basri said the 48-year-old victim claimed she was contacted by a man who was allegedly a representative of an insurance company on November 10 to investigate an accident insurance claim under her name. 

He said the call was connected to the Pudu police station for her to lodge an insurance cancellation report and later a court representative who accused her of being involved in money laundering.

“The victim made a personal loan at two separate banks amounting to RM118,000 and RM59,000 respectively and all the money was transferred to her bank account earlier this month after being directed by the suspect to facilitate the monitoring by the court,” he said in a statement today.

“On December 1, the woman revealed her own bank account information after being contacted by a man known as Mr Wong, who claimed to be from the High Court.”

Adnan said the victim only realised that she had been cheated after being informed by the bank that the money from the personal loan and her savings had been transferred in stages.

He said all the 13 transactions amounting to RM216,000 were made by the suspect through online banking. 

“The victim lodged a police report at 12.30pm yesterday,” he added. – Bernama, December 31, 2021.