KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 — Police are tracking down a scam offering discounts on outstanding Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) bill payments, which has so far seen seven cases reporting RM280,000 in losses.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said the syndicate was spotted offering the service with a discount of 20 to 30 per cent through Facebook where victims would call a telephone number before sending a photo of the outstanding bill.
“The syndicate will then send a photo of the receipt purporting that the bill has been settled and instruct the victim to transfer money to an individual bank account. After the transfer, victims realise they have been cheated as the (TNB) bill was still outstanding,” he said at the CCID office today.
So far, seven cases reported the same modus operandi causing RM279,289 in total losses, and the cases are being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for fraud.
In a separate case, the police detected a fraud tactic where scammers impersonate an agent and offer the service of processing the return of money that the scammer defrauded or transferred to someone else's account.
“There is actually no shortcut for this, whether through an agent or the like. In fact, the actual process of refund will take time because victims will be required to appear in court in the procedure set out under Section 413 of the Criminal Code,” Ramli said, adding that their money can be reclaimed within three to six months after making a police report.
In addition, since the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) was established on October 12, 2022, some 11,000 victims failed to make a police report after reporting to the centre, resulting in blocked money that could not be processed or returned.
“Victims who call the NSRC regarding fraud cases must file a police report so that sanctions and refund actions can be completed,” he said.
From 2022 to July this year, RM46 million was blocked by the NSRC, of which RM510,000 was returned to the victims.
— Bernama
