Global Courant
JOHOR – A retiree, who thought he had won RM3.5 million (S$1 million) from a lottery ticket, ended up losing his savings to two scammers who made him believe the money was needed to pay for some special prayers to enable him to win more in the future.
The incident happened when the victim, in his 60s, was approached by two men while he was in Chaah town several weeks ago.
A police official said two men approached the victim and said he would get a windfall if they helped him buy a lottery ticket.
“The man was not convinced, but the suspects then gave him a piece of paper which was rolled up and tied,” the official said, adding that the victim was told not to open the paper until the next day.
The official said the suspects then told the victim to meet them the next day and bring a bottle of water and an egg.
“The next day during their meeting, the suspects asked the victim to open the newspaper and he was shocked to find a winning lottery ticket of RM3.5 million. They even showed him a newspaper clipping with the winning numbers.
“However, the suspects would only hand over the ticket to the victim if he pays more than RM200,000 for some special prayers,” the official said, adding that the victim agreed and handed over the money in several transactions.
The victim only realized that he had been duped after the suspects refused to answer his call after several weeks and did not hand over the winning ticket.
Meanwhile, a teacher in her 30s from Ledang was cheated of about RM220,000 in a scam in Macau a few days ago.
The official said the victim received a call a few days ago from a man purportedly from Pos Malaysia, claiming that a package containing identity cards and fake credit cards from Sarawak had been sent to the victim.
“The teacher was then transferred to a police inspector who said the victim was involved in human trafficking and money laundering. He demanded that she pay some money as a deposit,” the official said, adding that the concerned teacher then transferred about RM220,000 to various accounts through more than a dozen transactions.
The woman reported the incident after she was unable to contact the ‘police officer’.
Meanwhile, in another scam, a college teacher in his 20s from Batu Pahat lost nearly RM200,000 in a fake investment scheme a few days ago.
Police said the victim befriended a salesman through Facebook who enticed the victim to invest in an online program that promised huge returns.
“The victim was told that she could track her investment online and payments would be made after 10am daily,” the official said, adding that the woman then decided to transfer RM200,000 for the investment over a period of about a week.
But she also filed a report after not receiving a return shipment or discount voucher.
The official said all three cases were being investigated under Article 420 of the Criminal Code for cheating.
Police reminded the public, especially seniors and retirees, to be cautious when contacted by people claiming to be agents of courier companies, who would transfer the call to so-called enforcement officers.
He urged the public to use the Semak Mule mobile app or go to to check if bank accounts or phone numbers have been linked to suspicious activity to avoid falling victim to scams. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
