PETALING JAYA : It would pay to take heed and be cautious the next time you receive a call or text message from a relative or friend desperately wanting to borrow money.
It could possibly be a phone scammer impersonating them.
Since early this month Petaling Jaya police have received 78 reports from victims who claimed to have lost between RM1,000 and RM250,000 to these scammers.
Petaling Jaya police chief ACP Nik Ezanee Mohd Faisal said today that victims who lodged the reports alleged that they had received messages from a “friend or relative” through WhatsApp claiming they are in dire financial straits and need funds.
“The scammers would use a new phone number claiming they had lost their cellphone. Victims were further convinced by the ruse as the crooks used the photos of those they are impersonating as their profile photo in the app. Furthermore, the scammers had managed to closely imitate the voices of the friends and relatives of the victims.” he said.
Nik Ezanee said after sending bank account numbers which were not under the names of the “friends and relatives”, the victims made cash deposits or transfers.
He said victims later learnt that they had been fleeced after calling to check on these “friends and relatives” on their actual phone numbers and learnt that they had never lost their cellphones or sought cash.
“With the country undergoing issues due to the ongoing pandemic, many are trying to make easy money.
“We advise the public to not be taken in by calls from unknown numbers and to thoroughly carry out checks before doing anything that can cause them losses. These scammers do not target a particular group of people but attempt to fleece those who are unaware of these new scam tactics,“ Nik Ezanee said.
He said when in doubt the public can call the district police headquarters at 03-79662222.
The public can also check on the status of the bank accounts and telephone numbers given by the scammer to see if it is blacklisted with the commercial crimes investigation department’s (CCID) special website at https://ccid.rmp.gov.my/semakmule/.
