Nearly RM10mil lost to Macau scams in Johor this year so far – The Star Online

JOHOR BARU: Johor police recorded a spike in Macau scam cases with losses amounting to almost RM10mil within the first four months of this year.

State commercial crime chief Asst Comm Amran Md Jusin said from Jan 1 this year until Monday (April 18), there have already been 209 cases recorded compared to 90 cases in 2021, which is an increase of 119 cases.

The value of losses involved within the first four months of this year is RM9.5mil compared to RM2.8mil in 2021, which shows a spike of RM6.6mil, he said in a statement here Tuesday (April 19).

ACP Amran urged the public to always be vigilant and wary of receiving phone calls from an unknown number that would request personal information.

Usually, Macau scam syndicate members will disguise themselves as policemen, Inland Revenue Board officers or insurance agents.

"In this regard, the public is asked to be vigilant with the modus operandi used by the syndicate, which is to call the victim directly using an unknown telephone number or through an operator, he added.

ACP Amran said the victim would then be told to have tax arrears, before being instructed to call another number allegedly to speak to an enforcement officer before being asked to provide details regarding the victims account and the TAC number the transfer was made to the victim.

"All the money transferred by the victim will then be withdrawn through internet banking without the victim's knowledge," he said.

He advised the community to follow some tips provided to avoid becoming a victim of this Macau Scam syndicate.

Among the things that can be done is to ignore and not entertain anonymous individual phone calls, dont disclose banking information to any party and do not panic.

"This is because the police do not conduct investigations through phone calls. Apart from that, the public can also get relevant information by contacting any police channel provided," he said.

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Nearly RM10mil lost to Macau scams in Johor this year so far - The Star Online