One Kuantan-area man has found himself nearly RM10,000 (US$2,500) in the red, after he was tricked into giving money to a man who claimed to be his friend.
Investigators say that the 53-year-old victim received a phone call from the suspect on Tuesday, who at the time claimed that he was a friend of the victim, and had changed his phone number.
Claiming to be “Gan,” a man who shared a similar name with the victim’s friend, they had a brief chat, and hung up. The following day, the same suspect rang the man again, and asked him to borrow RM9,500 (US$2,300).
As it were, the man’s actual friend Gan often asked to borrow money, and the man did not think anything was amiss, when the suspect on the phone gave him an account number to deposit in.
On Wednesday, the man was walking through town, and ran into to the actual Gan, and asked him why he had not responded to a WeChat that he sent regarding a receipt for the transaction. At this point, the man realized that he had been led astray by a fraudster, as Gan denied ringing the man, having a new number, and asking him for money.
A police report has since been filed, as officers investigate who defrauded the victim.
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