Taiping Senior Citizen Loses RM318,000 After Falling Victim to Phone Scammers Posing as Authorities
IPOH — A 74-year-old retired civil servant in Taiping lost RM318,521 after falling prey to a sophisticated phone scam syndicate whose members impersonated officials from Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and the police.
Taiping district police chief ACP Mohamad Nasir Ismail said the elderly woman lodged a report on Friday after discovering that her savings and investment funds had disappeared.
The ordeal began on December 2 when the victim received a phone call from a man claiming to be a TNB representative. He alleged that her name had been used to register an electricity meter for a house in Kuantan, and urged her to lodge a police report there.
Pretending to assist, the suspect connected her to another caller posing as a police officer. The so-called “officer” accused the victim of being involved in a money laundering investigation, instilling fear and panic in her.
She was then told to comply with a series of instructions, including disclosing her banking details, listing her assets, and providing information on her investments and jewellery. Another man later contacted her, ordering her to wrap her ATM card and jewellery before placing them at a designated roadside location.
The scammers continued to manipulate her psychologically, demanding her ATM PIN number and instructing her to transfer Amanah Saham Bumiputera funds into a bank account they controlled. She was also asked to provide information regarding her Tabung Haji account.
Out of fear and believing she was complying with official investigations, the victim followed all instructions.
On December 23, she checked her bank and Tabung Haji accounts and was devastated to find all her money gone. Bank verification later confirmed that the transactions were not conducted by her but by the scammers.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating. Authorities remind the public that genuine enforcement agencies will never request personal banking details, PIN numbers, or valuables through phone calls.