KUANTAN, Sept 7 — A retired teacher lost more than RM300,000 after falling victim to a “phone scam” by individuals posing as TNB officers and police officers.

Pahang police chief Datuk Seri Yahaya Othman said the 69-year-old woman claimed to have received a call from someone claiming to be a Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) officer last August 18 who informed her that there was an outstanding TNB bill in her name.

He said the call was then transferred to a “police officer” who told her that there was an arrest warrant issued against her for alleged money laundering.

“The woman was then instructed to transfer all her savings into a bank account belonging to him and also ordered to leave her ATM card and PIN at a given location.

“On August 28, the woman said she was instructed to place all her jewelry, estimated to be worth RM50,000, into the mailbox of her house. She claimed someone then arrived in an unidentified vehicle and took the jewelry,” he said in a statement today.

Yahaya said the woman only realized she was cheated after finding the money in her bank account amounting to RM261,810 was transferred to another bank account on September 6 through the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) without her knowledge.

She then lodged a report at the Kuantan police station