Serial scammer ‘Sarjan Tan’ cheats shop owner out of almost RM1mil

ALOR GAJAH: A scammer going by the name of “Sarjan Tan” has started conning again, this time scamming RM922,300 from a 50-year-old grocery store owner here.

Alor Gajah OCPD Supt Arshad Abu said the fraudster told the victim that his bank account was hacked and misused.

“The victim received the call on last Dec 20 from one Sarjan Tan who claimed that he was from Perak police headquarters and was investigating the case,” he said on Wednesday (Jan 10).

He said the victim’s bank account was used to carry out unlawful transactions by a bank manager.

Supt Arshad said the scammer then instructed the victim to place his Bank ATM card and PIN number at a location here, two weeks ago.

He said the victim was then told to issue his company cheque for RM420,000 and deposit it into a bank account provided by the conman on Jan 3.

Supt Arshad said the victim on Tuesday (Jan 9) had checked the details of his bank account at a financial institution in Pulau Sebang here when he discovered a sum of RM502,300 had been withdrawn between Dec 21 to Jan 8.

He added that the victim lodged a police report at Simpang Ampat police station on Tuesday and the case is currently being probed under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

It has been reported that Sarjan Tan was involved in similar scams in Raub, Pahang in 2019 and Tampin, Negri Sembilan in 2020.