Batu Pahat district police chief Ismail Dollah said last August, the 73-year-old woman received a call from a man who identified himself as a police officer and was told that she had a debt with a bank.

“The call was then transferred to one ‘Datuk Seri’ who said the victim was also involved in a drug case and offered to solve the case if the woman made some payments to the account provided.

“The victim made four payments through cash deposit machines and one online transaction, all totalling RM426,450,” he said in a statement today.

Ismail advised the public to be wary of calls from unidentified numbers and to check with the authorities if they had any doubts.