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JOHOR BARU: An elderly man lost 107,000 ringgit after a suspect posing as a US naval officer tricked him into offering valuables allegedly seized from rebels in Iraq.
The head of Johor’s Commercial Criminal Investigation Department, Asst Comm Mohd Salleh Abdullah, said the 61-year-old victim met the suspect who used the name “Laura Anderson” through Facebook.
“The suspect claimed to be a captain in the United States Navy who had served as a nurse in Iraq under the United Nations.
“The suspects also claimed that she had valuable items such as money, gold and diamonds seized from the rebels,” he said.
He added that the victim was also contacted by a local woman who claimed to be an agent and told the victim to make some payments.
“The payments were said to be for delivery fees, certificates and miscellaneous fees to ship the gold and diamonds to the victim.
“The victim made the transactions without informing his close contacts,” he said, adding that the victims had made nine transactions totaling RM 107,000.
ACP Mohd Salleh said the victim only realized he had been misled when he could no longer contact the suspect.
“The victim then filed a police report at the Kluang Police Station on Friday (December 18) and the case is currently being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code,” he said.
He also urged the public to be more aware of deceptive techniques used by cybercriminals and to not easily believe the people they meet online.
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