Beware: Scammers in M’sia Are Now Imitating the Voices of People You Know to Cheat You of Your Money

Scammers are coming up with all kinds of ways to cheat people of their money with many of them using smart and tricky tactics to get people to transfer their money online. However, it’s always too late before victims realise that they’ve lost a huge sum of money that they’re never getting back.

According to The Star, there is a new kind of phone scam that has been going around in Melaka that a former top Melaka state official fell victim to.

The 65-year-old man, who does not want to be identified, said he got a call on 9th November from a woman who said she was his niece. But the caller never asked him to settle outstanding police summonses or money owed to banks.

Instead, the caller mimicked the voice of his niece and told him that she was in trouble and needed him to deposit cash into her bank account. 

The man noticed that her voice wasn’t exactly like his niece’s and asked her why her voice was different. The scammer tried to cover it up by saying that she had a very bad cough.

“She called me uncle and told she was in very big trouble with illegal moneylenders and wanted the cash urgently,” he said.

“The caller, using a different phone number, also pleaded with him not to tell others first and said she would explain her predicament when she met in person.”

At the time, the victim was in Tanjung Piai in Johor to be part of a campaign for the upcoming by-election when he received the call. So, without thinking twice, he transferred RM3,000 to his “niece” thinking she was in trouble. 

On the way back to Melaka on the night of 9th November, he decided to call up his niece on her landline to see if she had received the money. However, his niece told him that she doesn’t even own a handphone and that she never called him for help.

The victim then tried calling back the number from which he was scammed, but the number had already been blocked. 

He then lodged a police report at Bandar Hilir police station on 11th November.

“I was told that I am not the first victim. There had been a few more cases where the callers mimicked the voices of family members,” he said.

“What baffled me is how the fraudster got my personal information, including where my relatives live.”

Omg, scammers are getting really smart nowadays. To avoid getting scammed, it’s better to double check with the person you’re transferring money to, especially if they claim to be someone you know.