Photo: Twitter (@OhhB_)
It’s always satisfying to see someone getting a taste of their own medicine. For this particular scammer who seemed to have plenty of time, the plan went south.
Twitter user Brian Cheong shared his story on Twitter and explained that the whole thing began when he got a call from someone who claimed to be from the Terengganu Police Headquarters. According to the caller, Brian’s IC had allegedly been used to rent a car in Kuala Terengganu and the said car had injured a guy.
The caller further claimed that Brian had received RM250,000 in his BSN bank account from a drug tycoon. Of course a claim like that would make anyone suspicious. Smart guy Brian who (luckily) had a friend in the police force checked with his friend to find out whether his name was actually penalised for anything and, as expected, his name was clear of any charges. Cheekily, Brian then replied the caller that if he had any money, he would have already bought tickets to go on holiday. No judgement, we would have done the same!
The sarcasm instigated a reply and a threat from the caller, who yelled back and claimed to be the Assistant Superintendent of Police and said he could direct BSN to freeze the account, to which Brian calmly replied that he didn’t care as he knew he was innocent.
Photo: Twitter (@OhhB_)
Moving the conversation to Whatsapp, the scammer sent Brian a picture of a letter demanding his arrest and an order to freeze his assets. It didn’t take Brian (or anyone, really) to figure out that the letter was fake. What gave it away, you ask? Maybe it was the fact that the header in the letter had a Putrajaya address but a signature from a judge in the KL Sessions Court. Or maybe, just maybe, it was the fact that the “assistant director’s” signature was in cursive font.
At this point, the scammer probably realised he had been called out and then blocked Brian on Whatsapp, so our hero then informed the guy via text that the incident had been reported to actual police. Funnily enough, Brian was then unblocked and congratulated for successfully making the case viral. The scammer then proceeded to ask for a link to the tweet so he could see how famous he was now. With a number of missed calls and constantly changing biodata information (it was the Royal Malaysian Police Headquarters one day and then Terengganu Police Contingent the next), the scammer suddenly claimed to be “Sergeant Nur Diyana” and said she would bring the issue to court. Pretty relentless ah this guy!
While educational, the replies in the thread showed that the scammer is quite cheeky as well. Twitter user Syakir messaged the number (which Brian didn’t block) to ask if it was the Terengganu Police Headquarters, to which he received a reply saying that it was a restaurant’s number. The persistent Syakir said he wanted to make a police report, and the scammer replied saying “tomorrow can. I’m busy today”. Busy scamming who else, we have no idea, but we sure hope action is being taken!
By: Celestine Foo
