Scam calls are on the rise lately, many of us have been receiving calls from random numbers claiming that we either have summons starting to pile up, or that we have a court order from a different state. Personally, I’ve got the “summons” call several times and I don’t even have a driver’s license!
A Malaysian lady, Vanesa, recently shared with WORLD OF BUZZ how she got one of these scam calls and it scared the life out of her. Hence, she hoped that by sharing her story, the public will not fall prey to similar scams.
Here’s how it went down:
1. Vanesa receives an automated message about a package
She got an automated message through her landline saying that she had a message from the post office. The instructions from the automated message said to press zero (0) to receive the message, and so she did.
Source: pc mag
Usually she’d put down the phone but since her housemates always order products online, she figured that it was a message about a package they may have ordered. Little did she know that she was about to have the most interesting yet terrifying day.
2. Apparently, the package contained her IC & credit cardÂ
After pressing zero, the unsuspecting Vanesa was connected to a call operator in the post office. When she asked about the message, weirdly, that guy responded by saying: “So, why did you call us?”
Vanesa was baffled but she explained that she received an automated message claiming she had a message from the post office. Only then did the “operator” say that they have received a package in Kuantan, Pahang; and it contained a credit card and her original IC. So, naturally, Vanesa was already freaking out because they could recite her exact IC number!
“You can imagine how scared I was because how did these people obtain my full IC number? I was just so confused in the rush of the moment.”
At the back of her mind, she sensed that there was something fishy.
For illustration purposes | source: beetify
Vanesa told WORLD OF BUZZ,
“I asked them for a receipt so that I could make a complaint to the nearest police station. But, they refused to give it to me and insisted that I should lodge a complaint at the Kuantan police station.”
“So, I obliged and weirdly, they gave me the package number and connected me to the Pahang contingent. I should have noticed the red flag there but I didn’t.”
And, so her worst nightmare began…Â
3. Vanesa was asked to make a police report & she learnt something shockingÂ
Upon reaching the “police” line, Vanesa was asked to switch lines because it wasn’t “advisable” to lodge a report on the emergency line. And so, she was connected to the line to Sarjan Albert Lai – who is also the person who picked up the emergency call.
She explained everything from the beginning and the Sarjan Albert Lai presumably took down some notes. A few long minutes into the conversation, Sarjan Albert Lai suddenly said that he needed to run her IC number through the Bukit Aman records.
For illustration purposes | source: vice
Vanesa recalled bitterly,
“At this point, I wasn’t thinking anymore… the Sarjan schooled me for not taking care of my personal belongings and information. I just wanted to get this over with but then the Sarjan wasn’t about to let me go because the ‘report’ from Bukit Aman revealed that I was involved in a money laundering case. He told me that I had millions of ringgit in my account that was embezzled through a syndicate.”
4. Vanesa was made “suspect” for money launderingÂ
Vanesa was told that allegedly a man named Danny Wong had open an account under her name and laundered the money, therefore, making her (a) suspect. You know, because the account is under her name.Â
After much quarrelling, the Sarjan finally said that Danny Wong had been captured, but he is still under investigation. Vanesa continued,
“He then said I was (a) suspect; I was stupid enough to believe his words even though I was conscious that I needed (a) warrant to prove that I’m a suspect. He asked about the names of the accounts that I possess and required me to ‘lapor diri’ every two hours (every day).”
For illustration purposes | source: malay mail
The scammer told Vanesa not to share details of the “case” with her mother (or friends) because she would be violating a law. Still, she talked to everyone she trusted and finally, figured out that it was a scam call. She shared,
“I eventually told everyone I knew and trust; then, I called the Pahang Contingent again to reconfirm the call and as expected, it was a scam call.”
Vanesa said she’s grateful that the scam didn’t move any further though she still got a message from the scammer asking her to “lapor diri”. You can take a look at the messages below:
Source: vanesa
Now, you may be wondering why Vanesa didn’t just end the call and quite honestly, she doesn’t have an answer for it, but she told us: “I hope people will learn from my mistake and not entertain a call that is similar to this.”
Well, we’re glad that nothing severe happened to Vanesa, and we hope she’ll be able to recover from this traumatic experience. On that note, if you’ve received a call like this, don’t hesitate to file a complaint at your nearest police station.Â
