PERAK police received a report from an individual who claimed to have fallen victim to a phone scam, involving a housewife in her 50s who lost nearly RM500,000.

State police chief Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said the Kerian District Police Headquarters received the woman’s report last Saturday.

“The incident happened in February after the woman received a telephone call purportedly from an insurance company and police claiming that she was involved in a false claim as well as being involved in a criminal case of extortion and illegal gambling,” he said in a statement today.

He said the scammers had told the complainant that for investigation purposes, she needed to disclose her banking details to the ‘authorities’ and transfer funds into an account.

Yusri said the housewife only realised that she had been duped when she confided the matter to her family members, following which it was found that her account was short of RM459,754.

Therefore, he advised the public to be more cautious and alert to the tactics of scammers, as many had fallen victim to such scams.

“The public can also refer to the Kerian police operations room at 05-7212222 or call the CCID Scam Response Centre at 03-26101559 or 03-26101599, or the National Scam Response Centre at 997,” he added.

Last week, Yusri said a retired female teacher had suffered losses of more than RM585,000 after being deceived by a syndicate that used the same modus operandi. – Bernama, April 12, 2023.