Cheque altering syndicate cheats RM50,000

Cheque altering syndicate cheats RM50,000

A syndicate which is expert at altering particulars on stolen cheques has cheated its victims of RM50,300 from August to November.

A syndicate which is expert at altering particulars on stolen cheques has cheated its victims of RM50,300 from August to November.

MCA Public Complaints Bureau chairman Datuk Michael Chong said that five cases had been reported to him involving that amount.

“What they do is change the name on the cheque and the amount. Behind the cheque they write the name of someone believed to be a member of the syndicate,” he told reporters here.

Before deciding on the amount, the syndicate is believed to have found out how much the cheque owner had in the bank, Chong added.

“They are so good at altering the particulars that there is no sign at all that the cheque had been tampered with. The eraser they use leaves no mark that can arouse the suspicion of the bank,” he said.

In the latest case, Chong said, a manager of a real estate company lost RM7,216 when a cheque he made out to a resort centre was “redirected” to another company.

He said that three of the cheques had been stolen from unregistered mail, and the other two from the offices of the victims.

— BERNAMA