Selangor police chief Shazeli Kahar said the 73-year-old victim, a private sector retiree, only realised she had been duped after informing her child, who told her that it was a scam, Bernama reported.

The retiree first received a call in May from a man claiming to be from the National Anti-Financial Crime Centre in Putrajaya.

She became frightened when she was told she was involved in a money laundering case.

The call was transferred to another man, who introduced himself as a senior police officer from the Sarawak police contingent and told the victim to declare her assets and savings.

In June, the victim was instructed to open four bank accounts at Affin Bank, Alliance Bank, AmBank and Bank Simpanan Nasional.

She was told to deposit her savings into the newly opened accounts.

Shazeli said the retiree was then told to place all her ATM cards in an envelope and leave it at a playground in USJ 22/1. She was also told to provide all her banking information.

Shazeli said the victim lost a total of RM5,996,586.

He urged the public to be vigilant against scams involving impersonation of government officials online, stressing that authorities never conduct transactions over the phone.

Shazeli also reminded the public not to disclose personal information such as identity card numbers and banking information.