IPOH, Sept 16 — A retired banker suffered a loss of RM1.44 million (RM1,440,969.83) after being duped by syndicate members claiming to be from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and police in a phone scam.

Perak Police chief Datuk Azizi Mat Aris said that on Aug 11, the 65-year-old female victim was at home in Taiping when she received a phone call at about 5.14 pm from a woman who introduced herself as an officer from MCMC.

He added that the suspect told the victim that her bank card was entangled in money laundering before the victim was connected to a man (the second suspect) posing as ‘Sgt Rabbani’ to resolve the issue.

“The second suspect used the same phone line to propagate the scam because the case is supposedly under investigation by police,” he said in a statement today.

Azizi said the victim was later contacted by several other ‘police officers’ from the Terengganu contingent headquarters by the names of ‘ASP Riduan’ (the third suspect) and ‘ASP Zaki’ (the fourth suspect).

He said the victim was instructed to open Hong Leong Bank, Affin Bank, and AmBank accounts for the purpose of transferring money into her own account.

According to Azizi, the victim was instructed to leave her Hong Leong, Affin Bank, and AmBank automatic teller machine (ATM) cards in an envelope on the lawn at an address as instructed, so that they could withdraw money from her account.

He said the suspects promised to return the victim’s money after the investigation was completed.

“After that, the victim received withdrawal notification messages from Aug 23 to Sept 11 and after checking through the Hong Leong Bank, Affin Bank, and AmBank statements, she found that she had lost RM1,440,969.83,” he said.

Azizi said the victim then lodged a police report at about 2.53 pm yesterday, with the case now being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

He advised the public not to be easily fooled by calls from unknown numbers.