MELAKA: A 60-year-old retired teacher's Hari Raya mood is ruined after losing all her gratuity and savings to scammers.

       The pensioner was in tears when she lodged a police report at Alor Gajah on April 8, claiming she was conned by an "officer" from the Health Ministry, who claimed she had committed offences for allowing another individual to misuse her identity to receive Covid-19 vaccination, as well as being involved in illicit currency exchange.

       Melaka Commercial Crime chief Supt E. Sundra Rajan said the victim lost close to RM250,000 after being conned into believing that she was involved in a money laundering case.

       "The victim was told she had committed an offence by allowing her personal information to be used to obtain vaccination at a government hospital," he said on Tuesday (April 12).

       Supt Sundra said the victim was then contacted by a man, claiming to be a police officer who could help settle the matter.

       He said the fraudster ordered the victim to reveal details of her bank accounts and transfer the total to another bank account belonging to the scammer.

       He said the victim checked her account balance on April 8 and found her savings were emptied.

       "The victim told my investigation officers that she reserved some of her savings to have a blissful Raya celebration after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic," he said.

       Supt Sundra said the scammer also used a similar modus operandi to fleece a 21-year-old student who also lodged a police report on April 8 at the Batu Berendam police station.

       He said the second victim had lost RM12,000 to the scammers.

       "Both the reports are being probed under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating," he added.

       The term “Macau scam” was coined as it is believed it originated from Macau or that the first victims came from there.

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

       The scammer will tell the potential victim that they owe money or has an unpaid fine, often with a very short window to settle the payment or face “dire consequences”.

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