Accountant loses RM250,000 to phone scammers

PETALING JAYA: A 52-year-old accountant lost RM250,000 to telephone scammers who fleeced him into believing that the security of his bank accounts had been compromised.
After unsuspectingly complying with the instructions of the scammers and seven bank transactions later, he never heard from them again.
The man was at his USJ 8 home on Oct 6 when he received a text message at about 1.30pm from an unknown number.
The message - similar to that sent by credit card companies when a transaction takes place claiming that a purchase was made at the KL International Airport 2 with a credit card under the victim's name.
Taken aback by the message as he neither owned a credit card nor had he applied for one, the victim called a telephone number provided in the text message- supposedly that of Bank Negara.
Subang Jaya police chief ACP Mohammad Azlin Sadari said the victim then spoke to an "officer" who went by the name "Tuan Gan" and told him that he did not have any credit cards.
He said the "officer" told the victim that his bank account and PIN numbers had been hacked into and his savings were at the risk of being lost.
Mohammad Azlin said to safeguard his cash, the "officer" ordered the victim to transfer his funds to "secure" accounts for safety.
He said the crook provided the victim with numbers of four bank accounts.
The anxious accountant went on to move his funds to the accounts and later on realising he had been conned, he lodged a police report.
Mohammad Azlin said the case is being investigated for cheating.