LABUAN: A 33-year-old woman lost a total of RM18,000 after being lured through Facebook that she had received a gift and cash amounting to USD600,000 from abroad.
It all started when the woman, a sales advisor accepted a ‘friend’ request and got to know the person purportedly named Yong Liu.
On July 10 before ending their chat, the man told her that he would be sending her a gift.
Two days later on July 12, she received a call from an unidentified woman at 10.38am informing her that a package had arrived for her from abroad and that she was required to make customs tax clearance for it.
She received a text message from the same number instructing her to pay RM4,500 to an individual account. Unwittingly, she made the bank transaction at about 12pm the same day, said Labuan police chief Supt Adzhar Othman today.
He said the victim received a second call from the same person at 1.30pm the same day, asking her to pay another RM13,500.
“She was informed that the package was being kept by Customs because it contained US currency, which is illegal under the law. She again credited the money into the same account.
“On July 13, the victim received another call from the same person who told her that the package contained USD600,000 and asked her to bank in RM150,000 into a company’s account.
“Finally the victim suspected that something was amiss and immediately called Subang Jaya Customs Department. She was told that it was a scam and was advised to lodge a police report,” Adzhar said.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code. – Bernama