KUANTAN: A 51-year-old janitor ended up losing RM173,000 of her hard-earned savings after she was conned by a man posing as one "Datuk Riduan".
The victim from Bentong knew something was amiss after receiving a strange instruction from the scammer.
She told her siblings about the matter before they urged her to lodge a police report - but it was already too late.
The incident unfolded on Aug 3 when the woman received a phone call from a person claiming to be an officer from the Inland Revenue Board in Cyberjaya.
Pahang Commercial Crime Investigation chief Superintendent Mohd Wazir Mohd Yusof said the caller claimed the woman had income tax arrears amounting to RM30,400.
"As the victim was about to deny the allegations, the call was transferred to one 'Tuan Adam from the Melaka police headquarters' who later told her to speak to 'Datuk Riduan' who is handling the case.
"Seconds later, 'Datuk Riduan' called the victim saying her name was allegedly used to register a company in Melaka which was involved in money laundering activities and she was linked to an illegal business. He told the woman to be calm and cooperate with investigations," he said.
Wazir said the victim who panicked revealed all her five bank account details including the amount of cash she kept in each account.
"The victim was ordered to transfer her savings into several bank accounts provided by the suspect and keep the receipt for investigation purposes. Since Aug 6, the victim had completed 30 transactions involving RM173,050.
"Once she informed 'Datuk Riduan', he told her to put all the receipts in a file for his officer to collect. The victim became suspicious when he told her to put the file into a rubbish bin near a petrol station," he said, adding she lodged a police report yesterday.
