PETALING JAYA: Well-choreographed storylines backed with the victims’ personal information and the ability to instil fear over possible repercussions from the authorities – these are some of the reasons many are still falling for Macau scams despite wide media coverage.
Hafishah Ab Hamid, 37, who lost over RM30,000, said she was pressured into believing her identity was stolen, which not only caused her to have RM40,000 in income tax arrears with the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN), but also “a wanted person notice” for her involvement in money laundering and drug trafficking.
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She received a letter purportedly from LHDN before receiving a phone call on March 29.
“I was hesitant at first, but I was transferred to a ‘Sarjan Nadia’ who asked me to Google ‘Kota Baru police station’. She said I would receive a call from that number and I did, which is when I started to fall for the scam.
“This ‘Sarjan Nadia’ then called ‘Bukit Aman’ to check if I was involved in other activities … the background noises were realistic – you could hear sirens, people yelling ‘emergency case’, and then an officer from ‘Bukit Aman’ informed me that I was involved in money laundering and drug trafficking.
“I started to panic, but she told me to not inform anyone, not even my husband.
“She said to…
