Accountant Loses RM510,000 In Elaborate Credit Card Scam By Fake Bank Negara Officials
The experienced accountant didn't expect himself to fall for a scam like this.
By John Lim — 20 Oct 2017, 05:29 PM
An accountant found himself at the receiving end of a syndicate who cheated him out of RM500,000 in a span of two days
NST reported that the 53-year-old victim from Penang, known only as Lim, received a message on his phone from an unknown number on 4 October.
It claimed that he had purchased a diamond worth RM4,299 via credit card.
Lim didn't own any credit cards, so he decided to call the number provided in the message for more details.
A woman picked up and said his identity may have been compromised. She then gave him a number, claiming it to be a direct line to "Bank Negara".
"A woman who answered my call told me that the card was registered under my name in Johor Bahru on 25 August, and that there was an arrears of RM7,900.45," he said.
Lim then called "Bank Negara" where a man claiming to be an officer confirmed that his details were at risk and it was best to surrender his account details for security reasons
He was given a "report number" that an "officer" would be contacting him later in the day.
"When the officer called me about 2pm the same day, he asked me to transfer all my money from my accounts into 'Bank Negara-controlled' accounts," Lim added.
Two account numbers were given and Lim transferred RM200,000 into them.
He received another call from the same "officer" the following day and was requested to transfer the remaining RM310,000
He was promised a passbook as a record of his transactions by the "officer". No such call came, it then dawned on Lim that he had been cheated.
After consulting with the state's MCA Public Services and Complain Bureau, Lim lodged a police report.
Lim, who has served as an accountant for the past 27 years, did not expect himself to fall for a scam of this sort
Penang MCA Public Services and Complaints Bureau chief Gui Guat Lye also urged the public to ignore calls purportedly from Bank Negara or banks, especially when it involves revealing personal details.
"We hope Lim’s case will serve as an eye-opener to others so that they will not fall victims to such a scam in future," he added.