By Patrick Beech
Malaysians are not only kind, but unfortunately, also very gullible people.
They are easily drawn and often scared of things without even taking the trouble to verify them with the relevant authorities.
Hence, the high number of losses suffered by Malaysians of up to RM3.3 billion.
This huge loss was the amount lost to 98,607 fraud cases from 2017 – 2021.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) Assistant Director (telecommunications criminal investigation) Supt Rozeni Ismail said throughout the period, 30,000 individuals were detained and from that, some 25,000 individuals were charged in court.
“Most of them were mule account holders while those who were not charged in court were placed under the Crime Prevention Act 1959 which included restricted residence for a certain period of time,” he said as reported by Bernama.
Most of the victims were duped by the famous Macau Scam, while others included online sales and purchases, non-existent loans and even love scams.
Kuala Lumpur Police Chief, Datuk Azmi Abu Kassim meanwhile, said despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, such scams continued to thrive.
Last year, he said a total 4,340 cases with losses of RM665 million were recorded compared to 4,062 cases involving RM637 million losses in 2020.
The public are urged to be extra cautious and take note of the modus operandi used by Macau Scam syndicate members.
If you are unsure of anything, do not hesitate to contact the nearest police station for assistance.
