KOTA KINABALU: Forty-six cheating cases involving suspects posing as Bank Negara officers with losses of RM1.24 million were reported in Sabah since 2010.
State Commercial Crime Investigation Department chief Supt Saiman Kassim said the trend also showed an increase over that period with three cases reported in 2010 with losses of RM66,830; seven cases in 2011 (losses of RM93,588) and 12 cases in 2012 (losses of RM475,192).
He said eight cases were reported last year with losses of RM167,743, while between January and July this year, the number of cheating cases reported so far stood at 16 cases with losses of RM433,084.
“Based on our investigation, the suspects’ modus operandi was to call the victims to say that their bank accounts were in danger as the bank’s system had been hacked.
“Then, they would cheat the victims into believing that they had to take out all their money and deposit it into a temporary account created by the suspects,” he said in a statement here yesterday.
Saiman said 33 accounts from nine local banks – Alliance Bank, Hong Leong Bank, Public Bank, Maybank, Ambank, RHB Bank, CIMB Bank, Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) and Bank Rakyat – had been identified as having been used by the suspects.
He said in the latest case reported on July 22, a 55-year-old salesman lost RM55,000 after being cheated by a unknown woman claimed to be a Bank Negara officer.
Initial investigation found that the suspects had used over 20 fixed telephone numbers in Kuala Lumpur, seven mobile phone numbers and one toll-free line to cheat their victims, he said.
Hence, he said the public were advised not to entertain any phone calls from individuals claiming to represent any financial institutions or banks and asking them to transfer their money to unknown accounts.
“Please be advised that neither Bank Negara nor other banks would make any financial transactions over the phone.
“If in doubt, they should seek verifications from the relevant banks or simply lodge a police report,” he added. – Bernama