Kuantan: A retiree of a national multinational oil and gas company suffered a loss of RM1.417 million after being duped by a telephone fraud syndicate between May and yesterday.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Pahang acting police chief Datuk Azry Akmar Ayob said the victim, a 66-year-old man, received a call from an unknown individual on May 19 who claimed that the victim was involved in money laundering activities. The victim was then instructed to open an Agrobank account and transfer his savings to the account for the purpose of checking by the authorities.

After opening the account, a man came to meet the victim in his residential area, and the victim handed over his bank card and PIN number to the man. Meanwhile, the victim had also transferred money from his Employees Provident Fund (EPF), Amanah Saham Berhad, and Tabung Haji accounts, as well as pawned gold proceeds totaling RM1,417,210 to the Agrobank account as of yesterday.

Azry Akmar said the victim then realized that the money in the account had been transferred to six different accounts and withdrawn via an automated teller machine (ATM) without his knowledge. He advised the public to seek advice from the nearest police station before taking any action after receiving a suspicious call to avoid becoming a victim of fraud.

He further advised the public to check the account number via the Semak Mule website before making any transaction and to contact the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) at 997 if they are a victim of fraud. The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.