Retiree loses life savings and car after being scammed by fake cops
"It was as though I was hypnotised because at that time, I immediately followed her instructions, selling the car and transferring the money to the account," the victim said.
SHAH ALAM - A retiree lost his savings amounting to RM112,000 and his car after falling victim to a scam by two individuals posing as police officers who claimed that his bank account was under investigation for suspicious transactions.
The retiree, identified as Rama, 65, said he was initially contacted by a man who claimed to be a police officer from Kuching, Sarawak.
"The way he spoke was very convincing. He introduced himself as a police officer and said he wanted to investigate my bank account.
"He claimed that there were suspicious transactions and somehow, I found myself following everything he told me to do.
"It felt as though I was hypnotised," he told Sinar.
Rama said the man initially claimed he wanted to investigate his account.
"He said someone else had used my account and then asked about my account balance before instructing me to transfer the funds to another account for safety purposes.
"The man convinced me that transferring all my money into that account was necessary to keep it safe. Trusting his assurance, I made five separate transfers," he said.
He added that a few days later, he was contacted by a woman who also claimed to be a police officer.
"She instructed me to sell my Perodua Bezza and said the money needs to be transferred into another account.
"It was as though I was hypnotised because at that time, I immediately followed her instructions, selling the car and transferring the money to the account," he said.
Rama expressed regret, saying that falling victim to the scam cost him all his savings and his car.
"The money I lost was my life’s savings from years of hard work and now it’s all gone. I have no idea how I’ll move forward from this.
"What happened was so sudden. Perhaps it was my mistake for trusting what the person said too much," he lamented.
Meanwhile, Serdang police chief Assistant Commissioner A A Anbalagan confirmed that the police had received a report regarding the scam.
He said the case was being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
