GEORGE TOWN — A 47-year-old stockbroker was scammed out of RM1.24 million by a syndicate posing as police investigating her for money laundering.

Penang deputy police chief Datuk Mohd Alwi Zainal Abidin said the woman received a call on June 20 claiming a suspicious package in her name was detained. The call was then redirected to someone posing as a Terengganu police officer, who accused her of money laundering and demanded she transfer her savings “for auditing.”

Fearing arrest, she made 26 transfers totalling RM1.24 million to five accounts between June 26 and 30. She only realised it was a scam after speaking to her family and lodged a police report.

Police are investigating under Section 420 of the Penal Code and working to trace the syndicate.