Commercial crime investigation department director Mohd Kamarudin Md Din said they received a report on the case this month involving a loss of RM8,500.

“The syndicate would contact those who have utility bill arrears and offer a discount if the victims allow them to settle the arrears.

“The syndicate would advance the money and claim that the payment receipt would be used by them to obtain tax exemption,” he said in a statement today.

He said after obtaining the victim’s consent, the syndicate would use post-dated cheques to make payments through deposit machines belonging to utility service providers.

He said once the cheque was deposited, the service provider’s system would display a record that the payment had been made.

The victim would then be asked to transfer money to the syndicate through a bank account belonging to a third party.

“The victims will only be aware of being cheated when the service provider informs them that they have failed to cash the cheques,” he said.

Kamarudin said the cases were being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

He also urged those who may have been victims of the syndicate’s scam to come forward to lodge reports at the nearest police station.

The public are also reminded to pay their utility bills directly to service providers and not to answer calls from unknown numbers.

To check the validity of suspicious telephone numbers and bank account numbers, use the semakmule portal or contact the CCID Scam Response Centre at 03-2610-1559/1599.