KOTA KINABALU: An unsuspecting housewife in Sabah's interior Keningau district was cheated out of RM21,400 by a Macau scam syndicate claiming to be Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) personnel and police officers.

       The 31-year-old victim claimed to have received a phone call from an unknown woman, who claimed to be from LHDN, while she was at home in Kampung Patikang, Keningau, at about 1pm on Saturday (Feb 26).

       The caller told the victim she had tax arrears of RM36,600 but as the victim tried to explain that she was not employed and a full-time housewife, the call was immediately transferred to another woman who claimed to be a police officer investigating the case.

       Keningau OCPD Deputy Supt Nor Rafidah Kasim said the woman who claimed to be a police officer had informed the victim that the case would be resolved within six months to a year.

       "The scammer then connected the call to a man who claimed to be from Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

       “The man sent a link to the victim through a social messaging application and asked her to click on it and fill in more details to avoid money being deducted from her account by the courts," DSP Nor Rafidah said Wednesday (March 2).

       She added that a few hours later, the victim checked her bank account and was shocked to find that RM21,400 had gone missing.

       The victim then realised she had been cheated and lodged a police report on Monday (Feb 28).

       DSP Nor Rafidah said investigations were being carried out under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

       She advised the public not to fall prey to scammers using phone calls and to avoid disclosing any personal and banking details to unknown parties at all times.

       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.

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