Man loses RM73,000 after being cheated by TAC number syndicate

MELAKA - A civil servant lost RM73,000 when his recently approved loan to renovate his house suddenly went missing from his bank account after he was cheated by a Transaction Authorisation Code (TAC) syndicate.

Melaka Commercial Crime Investigation Department chief Supt E. Sundra Rajan said the 40-year-old victim said he was contacted by an unknown man on March 14 who informed him that the suspect's wife had mistakenly written the victim's telephone number when registering her online banking details.

"The victim who works as a driver was then asked by the suspect to inform him immediately when he receives the TAC number from the bank via the Short Messages System (SMS).

"The victim did as he was told and passed the TAC number to the suspect. He then received an SMS from the bank informing him that RM50,000 had been transferred from his account after the victim gave the TAC number to the suspect,” he said in a statement, on Thursday.

The next day, the victim found that there was a second money transfer amounting to RM23,000 to an unknown account.

The victim immediately went to the bank to enquire about the second transfer but he was advised to lodge a police report.

He then went to the Ayer Keroh Police Station to lodge a report, Sundra Rajan said. - BERNAMA