JOHOR BARU: Even the Johor police chief himself was not exempt from getting a call from an online scam syndicate.

       State police chief Comm Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said he recently received an anonymous call asking for his personal information regarding a bank loan.

       “I have indeed taken a housing loan with a bank previously but when the caller proceeded to ask for my identification number and other details, I knew it was an attempt to scam me.

       "See, even the police chief gets such calls.

       "The tip is to remain calm, do not panic because if we did not engage in any illegal activities, why should we be scared?" he said in his speech at a town hall with community leaders and non-governmental organisations at the Johor Baru South police headquarters here Sunday (Nov 28).

       He reminded the public not to divulge their personal information such as identification number and bank account number to unknown callers.

       He said such syndicates would try to intimidate their target by plucking names of government departments and agencies during the call.

       "There is no such thing as transferring the call to different government departments, which is one of the tactics used by the scammers," he added.

       Comm Ayob Khan said the online scam syndicates, classified under the police’s commercial crimes unit, usually find their targets via social media, preying on retirees and lonely women.

       "Since last year, Johor police have recorded losses totaling to RM55mil from various commercial crime cases," he said, adding that once police recorded a commercial crime case with losses of up to RM50,000 in a day.