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

A man in Miri lost RM97,000 after fraudsters used his identity on WhatsApp to trick his wife into transferring money to third-party accounts.

The scam was discovered when the wife confirmed the transfers with her husband, who denied involvement, prompting investigation under Section 420 of the Penal Code.

Miri police advise the public to verify requests for payments and check suspicious numbers via the Check Scammers CCID portal before financial transactions.

MIRI, Oct 18 — A man here reported a loss of RM97,000 after fraudsters allegedly used his identity and profile picture on WhatsApp to deceive his wife into transferring funds into third-party accounts.

Miri police chief ACP Mohd Farhan Lee Abdullah said according to a report filed yesterday, the victim’s wife received a WhatsApp message on Oct 16 from an unknown number displaying her husband’s profile.

“The wife assumed the message was sent by her husband, in which she was asked to make money payments.

“She then made two online money transfers using a company account, amounting to RM48,000 and RM49,000 respectively, into two different bank accounts,” he said in a statement.

The scam came to light after the wife inquired about the payments with her husband, who denied requesting any financial transfers.

“Subsequent checks revealed that the phone number did not belong to him and the WhatsApp chat history had completely disappeared,” said Mohd Farhan.

He said the victim promptly contacted the bank to request action on the recipient accounts before lodging a report at the Miri Central police station.

The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

Mohd Farhan advised the public to remain vigilant against scam tactics involving impersonation through familiar profile photos.

“The public is urged to avoid making payments to third-party accounts without direct verification, and to retain transaction records,” he said.

He said suspicious phone or bank account numbers can be checked via the Check Scammers CCID portal at http://semakmule.rmp.gov.my before executing financial transactions. — The Borneo Post

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美里一名男子被骗9.7万令吉，骗子盗用他在WhatsApp上的身份，诱骗他的妻子将钱转入第三方账户。

妻子向丈夫确认转账情况后，丈夫否认参与其中，骗局由此被发现，并根据刑法第 420 条展开调查。

美里警方建议公众在进行金融交易前，通过“检查诈骗者CCID”门户网站核实付款请求并检查可疑号码。

美里，10月18日讯——一名男子报案称，诈骗分子涉嫌使用其身份和WhatsApp头像欺骗其妻子将资金转入第三方账户，导致其损失97000令吉。

美里警区主任莫哈末·法尔汉·李·阿卜杜拉助理警监表示，根据昨天提交的一份报告，受害者的妻子于10月16日收到一条来自未知号码的WhatsApp消息，消息中显示了她丈夫的个人资料。

“妻子以为这条信息是她丈夫发来的，信息中要求她支付钱款。

“随后，她使用公司账户进行了两次网上转账，分别向两个不同的银行账户转账了 48,000 令吉和 49,000 令吉，”他在一份声明中说。

妻子向丈夫询问付款事宜后，骗局才得以曝光，而丈夫否认曾要求进行任何资金转账。

“后续核查显示，该电话号码不属于他，而且 WhatsApp 聊天记录已完全消失，”莫哈末·法尔汉说。

他说，受害者立即联系了银行，要求对收款人账户采取行动，然后才向美里中央警察局报案。

该案件正根据《刑法》第420条（欺诈罪）进行调查。

莫哈末·法尔汉建议公众对冒用熟人照片的诈骗手段保持警惕。

“我们敦促公众避免在未进行直接核实的情况下向第三方账户付款，并保留交易记录，”他说道。

他表示，在进行任何金融交易之前，可以通过马来西亚刑事调查局（CCID）的“检查诈骗者”门户网站（http://semakmule.rmp.gov.my）查询可疑的电话号码或银行账号。——《婆罗洲邮报》

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财政部表示，从11月1日起，二维码支付将不再收取服务费。

祖基菲里表示，MediAsas计划为马来西亚M40群体提供财务和医疗安全保障。