He said that he only realised what had happened at around 1pm on April 11 when his friend contacted him while he was at his house in Tangga Batu, Melaka, Berita Harian reported.

So far, five of his friends have been “trapped” by the scammer’s tactics and have lost thousands of ringgit.

“First, the scammer used my profile picture to borrow money from my friends.

“Then he used my friends’ profiles to try and cheat me by saying that my phone was hacked.

“He requested a screenshot of my last communication on Telegram.

“I was deceived and sent the screenshot where the scammer gained access to all the numbers in my phone,” he was quoted as saying.

Bakri lodged a report at the Tangga Batu police station on April 12 as well as with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

So far, five of his friends have deposited between RM2,000 and RM3,000 each in the scammer’s account.

Two of the victims are bank officers.

“I found it strange how they were scammed but my friends told me they gave the cash because they trusted me,” Bakri said.

He said his experience should serve as a lesson for the public to be careful when receiving such messages.

The PAS lawmaker said he was upset that the alleged scammer was still free to send messages even after a police report was lodged.

He believed that the MCMC should bar the number after receiving his complaint.

“I feel MCMC’s complaints system should be improved. I will raise this matter up in Parliament as well as through my TikTok account,” he said.