A 61-year-old retiree suffered losses amounting to RM108,400 after allegedly being deceived by a syndicate offering house repair services at prices lower than the market rate.
The incident began in March when the woman received a phone call from an unknown individual who promoted affordable home renovation and repair services, convincing her to consider the offer.
Kuala Terengganu district police chief Assistant Commissioner Azli Mohd Noor said the suspect later instructed the victim to open a new bank account and transfer her savings from Tabung Haji into the account as part of the purported arrangement.
Without realising the risk, the victim allegedly entered a phone number believed to belong to the syndicate during the account registration process, allowing the fraudsters to gain access to the account.
The scam remained undetected until the victim discovered several days ago that RM108,400 had disappeared from her account. Further checks revealed three separate transactions had been made to three unknown bank accounts on March 10.
The case highlights the growing sophistication of scam tactics, with fraudsters increasingly exploiting digital banking processes to gain access to victims’ funds.
The victim lodged a police report at about 10.15am on Tuesday, prompting an investigation under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
Authorities have once again reminded the public to remain vigilant when dealing with unsolicited offers and to never share personal banking information or account access details with unknown parties.
