You may or may not have heard about a new type of “clever” scam that has been terrorising unsuspecting Malaysians. The one with fraudsters posing as “authorities” calling up victims about a family member’s drug-related arrest. We’ve seen a couple of Facebook statuses from our friends in the recent few weeks, warning others of the same scam.
One such friend of ours is none other than Fly FM DJ and personality, Ivan Leong. He posted up a status detailing his family’s account with the said phone call, which had someone on the other line claiming to be policeman. The “policeman” then said that he (Ivan) had been arrested for having drugs in his car and asked his mother if she wanted to see his son again before they sent him away:
As Ivan said, if you ever receive a call about a family member supposedly caught with drugs, don’t believe them because it could be a scam. In fact, Ivan and his family aren’t the first victims of such calls.
Malay Mail Online reported on 4th Nov that 18 other women (aged between 28 and 70) received calls with the caller ID of their loved ones, except that a so-called “narcotics police officer” was on the other end. The women, all from Selangor were told by a certain “Inspector Wong” and “Inspector Faizal” their sons or husbands had been arrested for having drugs and had to pay money for their release. They heard their sons and husbands crying over the phone, which convinced the women that they were in custody and police had used their “phones” to call them.
But in reality, their sons and husbands were at work and they were dealing with fraudsters.
Victims were instructed to leave money wrapped in newspaper in public places like banks, telephone booths, parking lots and even in garbage bins. (Source: Malay Mail Online)
According to The Star, the Malaysian police has been actively warning the public to be wary of a group posing as police officers out to hoodwink them into parting with money supposedly to free their loved ones caught with drugs. Subang Jaya police chief ACP Yahaya Ramli said the modus operandi of the syndicate was to call the intended victim, using computer software and gadgets such as “Magic Jack”, via the internet. “The syndicate members use voice over internet protocol,” he said in a statement.
As such, ACP Yahaya Ramli said that when confronted with such situations, the intended victim should get confirmation from the police by visiting the nearest police station. “Don’t panic, try to contact the family member concerned before taking any further step or making any decision,” he advised.
We urge all our readers to take note of this! Share this with your family members and friends because they need all the awareness we can get.
For more information on the syndicate, contact Bukit Aman’s Commercial Crime Investigation Department operations office at 03-26163999 or 03-26163822.
Sources: The Star, Malay Mail Online.