TUMPAT - Kelantan residents, especially those living in rural areas, have been urged to be vigilant so as not to be tricked by scam syndicates that are found to be actively looking for victims to be used as account mules.
Kelantan police chief Datuk Shafien Mamat said the scammers would pretend to be Social Welfare Department (JKM) personnel wanting to channel aid, especially to senior citizens.
He said this modus operandi has long been used by the scammers, adding that the police found it is becoming more widespread recently after they received more than 10 reports involving scam syndicates this year.
The scammers would pretend that they were from JKM and requested the villagers to open a bank account to facilitate aid distribution, he said.
He said they would give the unsuspecting victims RM200 as ‘initial assistance’ after opening the account before taking their bank card.
"Most of the victims are those aged 50 and above,” he added.
He said this to reporters after attending a security seminar with the Tumpat district village heads at Dewan Bunga Raya Pantai Sri Tujuh here today which was also attended by the state Youth, Sports and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) Committee chairman, Wan Roslan Wan Hamat.
Shafien advised the public not to be easily influenced by individuals who claimed they were from government agencies asking them to open a bank account.
He said they should refer to their relatives, village heads or the police to avoid being cheated.
In another development, Shafien said so far the police have received a total of 147 reports involving more than 350 individuals refusing to take the Covid-19 vaccination.
"However, to date, we have not received any reports on the vaccination under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids) as it has just started.
"The public is also asked not to be influenced by negative postings involving the Covid-19 vaccine as it (the vaccine) has been studied for the well-being of all. We are also actively monitoring posts that threaten security, including those that go viral on social media,” he added. - BERNAMA