GEORGE TOWN: A soya bean drink seller has lost almost half a million ringgit to a Macau scam syndicate.

It is learnt that the 53-year-old woman from Bayan Lepas, Penang received a call from someone who claimed to be a “police officer” in Seremban early December last year (2018) .

Following that, she transferred her money in stages to the syndicate until Tuesday (Feb 26).

In the phone conversation, she was passed to another “police officer” who told her that someone had misused her name to get a loan from a bank twice.

She was led to believe that she was involved in a crime case and could be sentenced to death.

The “police officer” then offered to solve the problem for her but said the victim had to pay a certain amount of money in order to get her name off the records.

Balik Pulau OCPD Supt A. Anbalagan said the woman had transferred money in stages for six times to the syndicate amounting up to RM476,000.

“The woman was weeping when she made the report, but nothing can be done,” he said.

Anbalagan advised the public to not believe in any individuals or “authorities” in instances that involved transferring money to any account without checking things thoroughly first.

“Please inform the police or seek advice from family members or third parties to avoid falling prey to Macau scams.

“The public should have high awareness to avoid becoming victims,” he added.

The term “Macau scam” was coined because it is believed that the ruse originated from Macau or that the first victims came from there. This has never been confirmed.

The scam often starts with a phone call from someone pretending to be an officer from a bank, government agency or debt collector.

The scammer will then claim that the potential victim owes money or has an unpaid fine, often with a very short window of less than an hour to settle the payment or face “dire consequences”.