Photo for illustration purposes only. — Photo by Thallen Merlin/Pexels
SIBU (June 22): A man in his 40s lost a total of RM55,410 after falling victim to non-existent online lottery winnings.
According to a statement from Sibu police chief Zulkipli Suhaili, the victim received a phone call from an unknown person claiming to be from the Lin Je Kong Temple, Perak on June 16.
The suspect told the victim that he had won a lottery and cash prize of RM225,000 but to obtain the money, the victim must pay for the insurance and bank processing fees.
“Without much thought, the victim made 12 transactions to five different bank accounts as instructed by the suspect.
“After making the transactions, the suspect once again instructed the victim to make another payment of RM16,580. At this point, the victim started to feel suspicious and realised he had been scammed and he lodged a police report,” he said.
The victim filed a police report on June 20 and Zulkipli said the case will be investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
The police advises the public not to be easily fooled by unreasonable offers on social media such as Facebook, WhatsApp, WeChat and so on, and to check first before making any transactions to avoid becoming scam victims.
For further information and advice, contact the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) at 997 and follow the Facebook page @CyberCrimeAlertRMP and @JSJKPDRM.
Also check the authenticity of bank accounts and phone numbers through the website http://ccid.rmp.gov.my/semakmule/.