KUCHING, Aug. 16 -- A 49-year-old man here lost RM104,310 to a phone scam last week.

Kuching police chief ACP Alexson Naga Chabu said the victim was contacted via WhatsApp from a friend's number, but it turned out the account had been hacked and hijacked.

"Last Thursday when the victim was in his office, he received a message from the number that belonged to his friend seeking help to make payments for the purchase of an item.

"Having trusted the message, the victim then made four transfers to three different accounts from Aug 13 to Aug 15, amounting to a total sum of RM104,310.

"On Aug 15, he was informed by his friend that the WhatsApp account was believed to have been hacked, saying he did not request the victim to make such transf...