Fake cops scare retired Bachok teacher into handing over ATM cards and wife’s gold necklace

A 75-year-old retired teacher from Bachok fell victim to a scam involving two ATM cards and his wife's gold necklace in a RM15,000 scheme. Kelantan police chief Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mamat announced that a 31-year-old woman was arrested in Kota Baru on September 13 for assisting in the investigation. The scam began on September 12 when the victim received a call from someone claiming to be a police officer from the Johor headquarters, informing him of a court summons for RM25,000 for alleged involvement in money laundering and drug syndicates.

The conversation was then transferred to another person via WhatsApp, falsely a senior police officer from Bukit Aman. The victim was told to keep the matter confidential and instructed to surrender two ATM cards and his wife's gold necklace, which was supposedly for an investigating officer. At 5 pm on the same day, a woman arrived at the victim's house to collect the items.

The gold necklace was sold at a gold shop in Kota Baru that same day, with part of the earnings deposited into a third-party account. The suspect allegedly received instructions via WhatsApp from an unidentified individual to collect the items. However, the victim managed to block the ATM cards with the bank, and no transactions were detected.

Police seized the victim's ATM cards, a Perodua Axia, a bank-in receipt, and a gold shop receipt; the necklace was recovered from the gold shop. The case is under investigation for Section 420 of the Penal Code. The police advised the public not to panic or be misled by threats of summons and arrests, reminding everyone that the police, courts, Bank Negara Malaysia, and banking institutions would never ask the public to surrender ATM cards, PIN numbers, or jewelry.