SEREMBAN: A 41-year-old teacher lost RM276,000 in a Macau scam here after she was fooled into believing that she was involved in a cheating case.

       State Commercial Crime Investigation Department head Supt Aibee Ab Ghani said the victim's troubles started on April 6 when she received a call from an individual claiming to be Health Ministry staff in Putrajaya.

       "The individual first accused the victim of buying medicines in excess from a government clinic in Ipoh from March 1 to 28.

       "The call was then apparently transferred to the Perak police contingent to allow the victim to lodge a report," he said in a statement.

       Supt Aibee said a "policeman" then told the victim that she was involved in a cheating case with one Tan Boon Huat who has since been imprisoned.

       The so-called cop told the victim that when police conducted a raid at Tan's house, they also found a debit card belonging to the victim.

       "He then accused the victim of accepting RM273,000 from Tan but told her to keep this confidential or else she would be arrested.

       "The call was then transferred to an inspector who then asked the victim about her savings and bank accounts," he said.

       The victim was then told to transfer cash into several accounts to allow the police and auditors to probe the case.

       Supt Aibee said the victim fell for the scam and began transferring cash into the accounts from April 11 to April 29.

       She also took bank loans totalling RM131,000 and borrowed RM90,000 from a friend.

       The victim only realised that she had been scammed on April 29 when she was unable to contact the inspector despite repeated attempts.

       He said that the case is being probed under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

       The offence carries a jail term of between one and 10 years, whipping and a fine upon conviction.

       The term “Macau Scam” was coined because it is believed that it originated from Macau or that the first victims came from there. This has never been confirmed.

       The scam often starts with a phone call from someone pretending to be an officer from a bank, government agency or debt collector.

       The scammer will then claim that the potential victim owes money or has an unpaid fine, often with a very short window of less than an hour, to settle the payment or face “dire consequences”.

       These unsuspecting victims will then be asked to make payments to get them off the hook.