WhatsApp scam: Miri man loses RM97,000 after fraudsters use his profile to dupe wife

Miri police have reported that a local man has lost RM97,000 as a result of a WhatsApp scam, where fraudsters allegedly used his identity and profile picture to deceive his wife into transferring money. According to the police, the wife received a WhatsApp message on October 16th from an unknown number, displaying her husband's profile.

She was then asked to make money payments. The wife, believing the message was from her husband, made two online money transfers totaling RM48,000 and RM49,000 to two different bank accounts. The scam was discovered when the wife questioned her husband about the payments, to which he denied any such request. The police noted that the phone number used in the message was not the victim's own, and the WhatsApp chat history had been deleted.

The victim immediately contacted the bank to request action on the recipient accounts, and subsequently reported the case to the Miri Central police station. The case is currently being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating. Police advised the public to remain vigilant against such scams involving impersonation through familiar profile photos, and suggested avoiding sending payments to third-party accounts without direct verification, while also retaining transaction records.

Suspicious phone or bank account numbers can be checked via the Check Scammers CCID portal before executing financial transactions.