Maxis bags award for the third time

RM60m online loot

More than 5,000 fleeced in Internet and other scams over past 15 months

AIZAT SHARIF

THASHA JAYAMANOGARAN

Friday, May 6th, 2011 11:32:00

PETALING JAYA: Lovelorn women parting with huge amounts of money to receive parcels from foreign Romeos, bogus SMS-es and email announcing your winnings — such scams are well-covered by the local tabloids.

Despite widespread reports, fraudsters continue to capitalise on the gullibility of Malaysians.

The bulk involved scammers using the Internet which recorded 4,573 cases with losses totalling RM57.4 million from the start of last year till March this year.

During this 15-month period, a total of 5,549 cases involving five common scams identi ed by police were reported with losses amounting to a whopping RM67.4 million!

Federal Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Datuk Syed Ismail Syed Azizan said the five fraudulent activities were parcel frauds; online transaction swindles; impersonation; text messaging scams (SMS); and Internet banking 'phishing'.

He said the scam with the highest 'hit rate' for last year was the impersonation ruse, where the crook would place a telephone call to a victim and masquerade as a bank o fficer.

The victim would be told he or she had unwittingly participated in illegal - financial activities and could face severe action. A way out would be offered, which is usually to transfer money into the criminal's account, with the pledge the money would be eventually returned.

"Naturally, the victims only find out they have been duped when their money never comes back," said Syed Ismail. The scam conned 1,305 Malaysians, with losses amounting to RM28.4 million.

Online shopping fraud, on the other hand, has emerged as this year's frontrunner, with 459 cases recorded so far and almost RM4 million pocketed by the criminals.

"In this modus operandi, victims purchasing items online would only discover they have been conned after the items fail to arrive," said Syed Ismail.

The same method was highlighted by The Malay Mail on March 31 in our report where a local online shopping portal was used by real estate scammers and a car theft ring selling off stolen spare parts.

Syed Ismail said with the global usage of the Internet, cyber crime had been an ever-growing concern since 2005.

"We now have to scrutinise the tactics used by the criminals, which are constantly changing.

"Police have had to evolve with the criminals."

Syed Ismail urged the public to stay vigilant and never disclose personal details to strangers.

"If you doubt that a call or offer is genuine, act on it and contact the authorities."

Online shopping portal scam nets RM700,000

JUST how advanced criminals had become on the local scene was front-paged by The Malay Mail on March 31 in our report on a top online shopping portal which had been used by real estate scammers and a car theft ring selling off stolen spare parts — pocketing more than RM700,000 todate.

Police are concerned by the rash of cases and they have not discounted the possibility of more victims.

Police had also met with the portal operators to discuss ways to curb the online criminal activities.

The Malay Mail probe showed at least eight people had been duped by a man, posing as a real estate agent, who had successfully fleeced the victims of RM500,000 by using the portal to lure potential buyers into parting with their cash.

The suspect would solicit a 10 per cent downpayment from his victim before disappearing with the loot.

His activities have drawn concern from the real estate fraternity who cautioned the public against buying properties online.

In the wake of this revelation, police also disclosed a car theft syndicate had brazenly used the portal as an avenue to sell stolen goods to unsuspecting buyers.

One of the gang’s key members is a 16-year-old school dropout, described as a “computer geek”, entrusted with the sale and purchase of the stolen items via the portal.

He took the role as the ring’s IT personnel whose job was to upload images of the spare parts taken from stolen cars on the shopping portal.

This can happen to you

Scam tactics used by conmen to dupe the public:

SMS scam

Total cases: 973
Loot: RM10,043,389
How it works: Bogus contest win messages are sent. The victim is then told to make payments for administrative or some sort of charges before being able to claim lucrative prizes. Despite making payments,
the prizes never arrive.

Online transaction fraud

Total cases: 1,573
Loot: RM3,926,638
How it works: The scammer would advertise non-existent products on legitimate trading websites and after an unsuspecting buyer makes payment, the goods fail to arrive while the scammer can no longer be contacted.

Internet banking (phishing)

Total cases: 659
Loot: RM2,235,837
How it works: Fake emails purportedly from the relevant bank would fool the victim to click on hyperlinks and go to a bogus website. There, the user IDs and passwords are harvested, then used by the scammers to empty out the victim's bank account.

Parcel scam

Total cases: 1,036
Loot: RM22,758,050
How it works: Playing on sympathy, the victim is persuaded to 'claim' a parcel on behalf of the 'distressed' scammer and pay for administrative or related charges. After payments are made, the scammers vanish and the parcel cannot be traced.

Impersonation

Total cases: 1,305
Loot: RM28,474,276

How it works: The scammer would call pretending to be, for example, a banker and claim the victim was in trouble, usually due to a payment default. The scammer would then also claim to be able to delay blacklisting if the victim paid a 'bribe' to an associate. The victim gets blacklisted anyway despite paying the 'bribe' while the scammers vanish.

Ganti MyKad dalam talian

ICT to contribute RM42b by end-2015

Jangan dedah maklumat dalam e-filing

7.5 juta telefon bimbit dijual 2010

 

 

 

oleh Shahrizan Salian
shahrizan@bharian.com.my
2011/02/17

Harga semakin murah, fungsi mudah alih lebih hebat pengaruhi pengguna

PERMINTAAN kukuh serta harga telefon pintar yang semakin murah dijangka mampu meningkatkan jualannya di negara ini kepada antara lapan sehingga sembilan juta unit tahun ini.

Sepanjang tahun lalu, sejumlah 7.5 juta unit telefon bimbit bernilai kira-kira RM4.5 bilion dijual di negara ini dengan telefon pintar adalah penyumbang utama. Dari segi bilangan unit, ia adalah peningkatan 24 peratus manakala dari segi nilai pula adalah sebanyak 30 peratus.

Pengurus Besar firma penyelidikan pasaran, GfK Malaysia, Jennifer Chan berkata, jualan telefon pintar mewakili 38 peratus daripada keseluruhan jualan telefon bimbit tahun lalu, meningkat 208 peratus berbanding 2009 serta melonjak 150 peratus dari segi nilai jualannya.

Katanya, sejak awal tahun lalu, nilai jualan telefon pintar meningkat secara konsisten setiap bulan dan pada Disember, ia sudah mewakili 72 peratus daripada jualan keseluruhan telefon bimbit di Malaysia.

“Fungsi mudah alih lebih hebat dan keperluan untuk kekal berhubung sama ada bagi tujuan kerja atau berhibur adalah antara sebab tercetus arah aliran meningkat dalam pemilikan telefon pintar,” katanya.
Selain itu, katanya, kepelbagaian tawaran produk yang ada di pasaran juga menyebabkan harga produk itu susut dengan pantas.

Pengendali telekomunikasi tempatan juga, katanya, turut memainkan peranan dengan melengkapkan telefon pintar dengan pelan data yang menjimatkan.

“Pengguna mempunyai banyak pilihan untuk sistem operasi (OS) yang ditawarkan oleh pengeluar telefon,” katanya.

Symbian kini adalah OS utama dalam pasaran telefon pintar di Malaysia tetapi pertumbuhan lebih tinggi dijangka berlaku tahun ini oleh pesaing seperti Android, Research In Motion (RIM) dan iPhone.

Telefon pintar Android dilihat menjadi pilihan pengguna sepanjang tahun lalu dengan 22 peratus yang dijual pada 2010 menggunakan platform OS berkenaan.

Sementara itu, Chan berkata, harga purata telefon pintar di Malaysia kini sedang berkurangan dengan model yang berharga kurang dari RM500 juga boleh didapati di dalam pasaran tahun lalu.

Bagaimanapun, katanya 75 peratus daripada telefon pintar di Malaysia berharga antara RM500 hingga RM1,499 dengan sumbangannya kepada jualan keseluruhan adalah 64 peratus.

“Telefon pintar adalah masa depan industri telefon bimbit. Pengguna yang semakin faham dengan arah aliran teknologi mahukan produk yang didatangkan dengan lebih banyak ciri-ciri canggih.

“Kami menjangkakan industri telefon pintar akan meneruskan arah aliran kenaikannya pada kadar dua angka yang tinggi pada 2011 dan seterusnya,” katanya.

Cinta RM300,000

 

   

 

 

Oleh Kalidevi Mogan Kumarappa
kalidevi@hmetro.com.my

KECEWA...Azlina (kiri) menceritakan kepada Chong (tengah) bagaimana dia ditipu.

KUALA LUMPUR: Akibat ‘mabuk cinta’ dengan seorang lelaki warga Pakistan melalui perkenalan di Internet sejak September tahun lalu, seorang wanita menjadi mangsa penipuan sehingga kerugian RM300,000.
Difahamkan, mangsa yang dikenali sebagai Azlina, 49, berasal dari Pulau Pinang tidak pernah bersua muka dengan ‘kekasihnya’ itu, tetapi terpesona dengan perwatakan suspek seolah-olah alim dan mampu membimbingnya sebagai suami yang soleh.

Azlina yang bertugas sebagai sebagai kerani berkata, kisah cinta bersama kekasih yang dikenali sebagai Hassan, 50, yang mendakwa berasal dari Atlanta, Amerika Syarikat dan bekerja sebagai ahli perniagaan bermula di satu laman web sosial.
“Lelaki berkenaan sentiasa berbicara mengenai hukum Islam dan perhubungan kami berjalan lancar,” kata Azlina ketika membuat pendedahan di Biro Pengaduan MCA, semalam.

Menurutnya, Hassan juga tidak ingin menggunakan kamera web kerana mendakwa dia tidak ingin melihat tubuh badan seperti yang dilakukan lelaki lain kerana ia adalah salah di sisi agama sebaliknya mereka saling bertukar gambar.

Katanya, melalui gambar pasport yang dihantar kepadanya, Hassan menyerupai lelaki warga Pakistan dan mendakwa dia adalah rakyat Amerika dan mempunyai kacukan Pakistan.

“Pada Oktober tahun lalu, dia melamar dan meminta saya berhijrah ke Amerika selepas berkahwin dengannya dan saya pun bersetuju,” katanya.

Bagaimanapun, lelaki itu mula menunjukkan tembelangnya apabila meminta dipinjamkan RM300,000 dengan alasan mengalami masalah kewangan.

Azlina memberikan wang berkenaan selepas mengeluarkan simpanan dan dipinjam daripada keluarga.

“Saya menghantar wang berkenaan secara berperingkat melalui khidmat syarikat penghantaran wang sejak November lalu hingga bulan ini,” katanya.

Azlina berkata, dia menerima panggilan terakhir daripada Hassan pada Khamis lalu, bagaimanapun terkejut apabila dua hari kemudian, seseorang yang mengaku rakan Hassan memaklumkan lelaki berkenaan meninggal dunia di Hospital St Mark, Atlanta, Georgia akibat dibunuh.

Sementara itu, Ketua Biro Pengaduan Awam MCA, Datuk Micheal Chong berkata, sebanyak 12 kes membabitkan penipuan Internet Afrika direkodkan pihaknya sejak tahun lalu.

“Kami dapati semua mangsa ditipu melalui taktik sama,” katanya.

Ditipu ‘tunang’ hidup-hidup

 





Oleh Ahmad Shahrul Nizam Muhammad dan Mohd Firdaus Ibrahim
am@hmetro.com.my

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TINGGAL KENANGAN...barang hantaran yang dihantar lelaki terbabit.

KUALA LUMPUR: “Dia ajak saya bercuti ke luar negara sebagai hadiah pertunangan, tapi saya tak mahu. Sebagai pengganti dia menempah sebuah kereta Ferrari untuk saya dengan menggunakan nama saya.
“Sudahnya, dia ghaib entah ke mana dan saya pula diburu penjual kereta yang meminta bayaran pendahuluan,” kata seorang wanita yang bukan saja terpaksa menanggung malu apabila majlis pertunangannya Sabtu lalu dibatalkan kerana bakal tunangnya menghilangkan diri, tapi turut kerugian RM50,000 selepas ditipu lelaki terbabit.

Wanita itu yang hanya mahu dikenali sebagai Fauzana, 30-an, berkata lelaki terbabit berusia 40-an dikenalinya setahun lalu melalui laman web sosial, facebook sebelum mengadakan pertemuan buat pertama kali di Bukit Bintang, di sini, awal bulan ini.
Menurutnya, lelaki itu yang mendakwa dia kerabat diraja dan berpangkat Datuk kerap ‘menjual’ nama seorang ‘Tengku Mahkota’ serta seorang ‘Yang Dipertua Negeri’ dengan berkata seorang daripada mereka bakal menjadi ketua rombongan peminangannya.

“Bukan itu saja, dia juga menggunakan nama saya bagi menempah pelbagai barang kemas bernilai ratusan ribu sebelum menghantar gambar barang kemas dan kenderaan mewah itu melalui telefon bimbit kepada bapa saya.

“Dia turut menghantar pelbagai peralatan hantaran untuk majlis pertunangan kami ke rumah keluarga saya di Kota Bharu bagi meyakinkan pertunangan itu bakal menjadi realiti,” katanya.

Menurut Fauzana, lelaki terbabit juga mendakwa pertaliannya dengan keluarga diraja membolehkan dia menggunakan pesawat peribadi kerabat diraja itu bagi tujuan majlis pertunangan mereka.

Berikutan itu, bapa Fauzana berusia 60-an yang terpedaya status elit bakal menantunya mengadakan persediaan bagi majlis pertunangan Sabtu lalu, tetapi kecewa bakal menantunya itu menghilangkan diri serta gagal dihubunginya.

Berasakan dianiaya dan ditipu kekasihnya itu, Fauzana membuat laporan di Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah Dang Wangi, keesokannya.

Menceritakan lebih lanjut mengenai hubungannya dengan kekasihnya, Fauzana berkata biarpun pertama kali berjumpa pada 10 Mac lalu, dia percaya lelaki itu kerabat diraja dan berpangkat Datuk.
“Malah, dia juga berjanji akan memasukkan wang lebih RM15 juta ke dalam akaun saya sebelum memberi alasan gagal berbuat demikian kerana ada masalah dengan Bank Negara,” katanya.

Fauzana berkata, walaupun wujud perasaan curiga terhadap lelaki itu, dia seolah-olah tidak dapat berbuat apa-apa, sebaliknya akur semua arahan selepas diberi alasan apa yang dilakukan semata-mata bagi memastikan majlis pertunangan berjalan lancar.

“Ketika itu dia meminta saya menyerahkan kad kredit, barang kemas, wang tunai dan semuanya mencecah RM50,000 dan mendakwa akan membayarkan semula,” katanya.

Fauzana mendakwa selama beberapa hari bersama lelaki itu di Kuala Lumpur, dia seolah-olah berada di alam lain dan tidak menyedari apa yang dilakukan selain patuh arahannya.

“Malah, pada 13 Mac lalu, dia membawa saya ke sebuah kedai barang kemas bagi menempah cincin pertunangan bernilai lebih RM400,000. Dia meyakinkan saya biarpun barangan kemas ditempah itu menggunakan nama saya, pembayaran akan dibuat keluarganya.

“Saya langsung tak sangka tindakannya membawa saya menempah sebuah kereta Ferrari hanya lakonan dan helahnya untuk menipu saya. Mujur juga saya tidak mengikutnya ke luar negara, jika tidak mungkin saya dijualnya di sana,” katanya.

Sebelum lelaki itu gagal dikesan pada hari pertunangan Sabtu lalu, penipuan terakhir dilakukannya ialah pada 17 Mac lalu dengan janji untuk membawa Fauzana bersama ahli keluarga di Kuala Lumpur pulang ke kampung dengan menaiki pesawat peribadi keluarga diraja.

“Namun, beberapa jam sebelum waktu berlepas, dia memberitahu penerbangan itu terpaksa dibatalkan kerana tidak mendapat kebenaran untuk mendarat. Sudahnya, saya terpaksa pulang ke kampung dengan penerbangan biasa.

“Bagi meyakinkan saya, dia menyerahkan kad ATM (mesin juruwang automatik) miliknya yang kononnya mempunyai baki RM6 juta, namun sebaik tiba di kampung kad itu tidak boleh digunakan dan dia pula gagal dihubunginya sehingga kini,” katanya.

Fauzana berkata, dia membuat laporan polis atas penipuan dilakukan lelaki itu bagi memastikan tiada wanita lain menerima nasib sama.

Sementara itu, Ketua Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah Komersial Kuala Lumpur, Asisten Komisioner Izany Abdul Ghany ketika dihubungi mengesahkan menerima laporan dan memberitahu siasatan lanjut dilakukan.

Celcom bakal lancar iPhone 4

CELCOM Axiata Berhad (Celcom), peneraju rangkaian telekomunikasi negara akan menyertai dua pesaingnya apabila buat pertama kalinya akan melancarkan telefon pintar iPhone 4 yang dilengkapi aplikasi paling inovatif di dunia, tidak lama lagi.
Dalam kenyataan ringkas yang dikeluarkan semalam, bagaimanapun syarikat itu tidak menjelaskan tarikh sebenar pelancaran, tetapi hanya memaklumkan bahawa telefon iPhone 4 itu akan dilancarkan dalam tempoh beberapa bulan yang akan datang.

“Antara ciri menarik termasuk FaceTime iaitu paparan Retina baru Apple, kamera lima megapiksel dengan lampu flash LED, perakam video HD, pemproses A4 Apple dan masa berbual sehingga 40 peratus lebih lama,” katanya.

Victims of abuse can take action

ANYONE who finds their intellectual property – such as personal video and other content – is being shared without permission, can take action, particularly if it affects their privacy or confidentiality, says CyberSecurity Malaysia chief executive officer (CEO) Lt Col Husin Jazri (Retired).

One way is to flag the violation to the service provider, he says, pointing out that file or video sharing sites such as YouTube have a policy against sharing intellectual property of others or content without the permission of the owner.

“Those whose data (files, pictures, videos) are being posted on sites like YouTube can notify the abuse team at YouTube to get the content removed. However, these sites rely on users or owners to flag them.”

"Be extra careful about giving others access to devices that store personal data"- LT COL HUSIN JAZRI (RETIRED)

The only problem, he adds, is that while waiting for the content to be removed, others may see or copy the digital document.

With today’s technology, it is now easy for people’s personal data to fall into the wrong hands, and be used to blackmail and harass them, he warns.

“Digital contents are now stored in small devices like USB sticks, phones or camera. These devices are subject to theft or being left by accident in public places. There are also instances where one might send their phones or laptops for repair and grant others access to all the contents in the device.”

Husin is advising users to apply common sense when dealing with personal data.

“Make sure sensitive or confidential data are stored in a safe place; and be extra conscious about giving others access to devices that store personal data,” he says.

He also advises users to learn how to use encryption technology so that strangers cannot view or retrieve the content when their USB stick is stolen or lost.

“The point is, once personal data is on the Internet, it tends to “stay” on the Internet. If users need assistance for communicating with sites such as YouTube or Facebook when their privacy is being compromised, they can contact Cyber999 Help Centre,” he says.

Sonya Liew of the Malaysian Bar Council’s Human Rights Committee says those who are “framed” on the Internet for an action or crime that they did not commit can sue the perpetrator for defamation, but only if they can identify him or her.

“Malaysian law provides such a recourse for users under the Defamation Act and the Penal Code,” she says. For instance, once the real name and particulars of the person(s) who post the malicious statement, photograph or video have been unearthed, you can sue him or her. However, it is not easy to identify the culprit, she adds.

Another problem is proving all the elements of the crime. “The person can easily say that somebody else is claiming to be them on the Net.”

Similarly, the host of the website with incriminating content can claim that he or she has no control over the content on the website and point the finger at the manager of the site, she says.

Unfortunately, for anyone whose privacy has been infringed when their personal data is stolen or abused (illegally posted or circulated), it is difficult for them to take action against the perpetrator.

“We don’t have a privacy law so we cannot take action against the person who illegally posted or circulated the personal data,” she says.

Ugly side of Net vigilantes

By RASHVINJEET S. BEDI and HARIATI AZIZAN 

sunday@thestar.com.my

The YouTube video of a poodle being abused that was widely circulated recently caused a lot of fury on the Internet, not just because of the cruelty but also for the abuse of information it created.

JONE Fun opened his Facebook message inbox one morning and found it inundated with hundreds of messages. Almost all were insulting in nature. They called him an idiot, brainless and other words that cannot possibly be mentioned here.

His purported crime – abusing a Toy Poodle. This was the infamous video that was widely circulated on the Internet in recent weeks.

Evidence but no proof: People who get worked up over animal abuse forget how hard it is to figure out who did it when all they have is a picture or video to go by.

“I was shocked and wondered what was happening. I thought some people were just trying to create chaos,” he says.

Fun, 29, claims he was actively gathering information about the case but then someone created a fake account of the alleged abuser and put his picture on the profile.

Without checking the facts, people started bombarding him with unsavoury comments although he looks nothing like the abuser, Fun says.

“When people are mad with anger, they might be irrational.”

On the bright side, Fun has become a mini-celebrity with people creating groups to support his innocence. The groups called “Jone Fun – Man or Legend” and “Justice for Jone” were created in an attempt to gather 9,000 signatures in his support.

Lian: ‘There is a human tendency to believe in rumours regardless of the medium'

And support has come from all over the world – Kuwait and America among others, according to Fun. Even a Taiwanese model has befriended him, he adds.

But the whole episode has left him bemused.

“I don’t know if I should be happy or angry. At least my network has been widened,” remarks the consultant in audio-visual systems.

He is no longer receiving any abusive messages but he notes wryly that not even one person has apologised for abusing him earlier.

As an observer of the case from the start, he says, he has seen how the story has been twisted so many times.

Unverified info

Follow the blogs and social networking sites and all you see is a mountain of unverified information about it. Infor­mation about the suspects, from the make, colour and registration number of their car to their addresses and mobile phone numbers, are all there.

University student Pauli Cash, 24, who is also a part-time technology consultant, believes there is a veracity to the posting of information on an official page that allows for people to assume it is real, even if the official page is merely a scam.

“People get really worked up over animal abuse, and rightly so, but they forget how hard it is to figure out who did it when all they have is a picture or video to go by,” says Cash.

“Internet addiction is rampant and will cause many to get hurt in the coming years,” he adds.

Commenting on the toy poodle abuse video, an appalled Facebook member who only wants to be known as Hamidah points out the presence of numerous clips of animals and their funny antics on the Internet. “Maybe it is time we think of other tricks if we want to shoot funny or cute videos of our pets. Can they find a better idea if they want their pet to do a trick? This is definitely not okay. Are we advocating that it is okay to torture animals? Why in the first place did he need to torture the poor dog?” she rants.

Wrong faces: Tan (left) showing the absence of tattoos on his arm as proof that he is not the alleged poodle abuser, while Kang claims he received threats to kill him.

Another Facebook user, Siew, says she was too frightened to watch the video but strongly believes that it is wrong to force animals to do funny tricks.

“Pets and animals are not here for our amusement. They may amuse us with their antics, but we should not be forcing them to do what we think is amusing.”

However, Siew, a former journalist, concedes that “punish and reward” is an established practice when it comes to animal training.

“Unfortunately, that has been the established norm. Circuses where such animal acts are found use that method and are painted as ‘good fun’, ‘family-oriented’ entertainment. Even zoos encourage such acts. But this is just one out of the many changes people have made to the natural world to meet our ‘needs’, and we’ve become so adept at it to the point that it is seen as a ‘right’, so much so that we rarely appreciate nature as it is, and we always think it needs to be changed – like how some residents turned the entrance to the Bukit Gasing forest reserve into an urban garden.”

Interestingly, there have been cases of animal abuse which were solved by Internet users, and this could explain why the person who claimed to have found the USB containing the video clip of the poodle being abused uploaded it on YouTube.

In 2009, users in the United States were outraged when they saw a video of a teenage boy abusing a cat named Dusty. They pieced together information using social networking sites and clues from the video to identify the boy from Oklahoma.

The local authorities were alerted and two boys were arrested. The cat was still alive and was treated by a vet.

Then there is the now famous case of 45-year-old Mary Bale of Coventry, England. A video from a security camera uploaded on YouTube showed an older woman petting a grey cat and then tossing it into a garbage can before closing the lid.

The cat was found 15 hours later, still alive. Internet users jumped on the case and managed to find Bale’s employer, address, and social networking profiles, and harassed her until she went into hiding.

Case of mistaken identity

In the poodle case, however, it has just been one mistaken identity after another.

Businessman Johnson Kang claims he received more than 130 calls with some threats to kill him for allegedly abusing the dog. The calls started coming in after someone created a Twitter account with his phone number under the name of an individual believed to be the one who had abused the poodle called Sushi.

Another businessman, Tan Leong Seng, the owner of a restaurant in Melaka Raya, saw his business experience a sudden increase as curious people thronged his shop to catch a glimpse of him. The address of his Yong Peng fishball shop had been posted on Facebook as that of the poodle abuser.

A man by the name of Daniel was even mentioned by a Taiwanese news channel as the person in the video. He later made a police report to clear his name. In one of his Facebook posts, he pleaded with people to leave him alone, saying that he did not have a tattoo on his left arm, which the abuser had. He, however, concedes that he has an uncanny resemblance to the abuser’s.

Other phone numbers posted on Facebook turned out to be hoaxes as well.

When one of these numbers was called, the man who picked up the phone identified himself as Ah Heng. He says he was bombarded by about 30 calls a few days ago.

“I don’t know what is going on and why I suddenly got so many calls,” says the man who also claims to be unaware of the poodle abuse case.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) office manager M. Shelvy says all the information or leads on the Internet turned out to be false after checking them.

“I don’t know why people are doing this,” she says, adding that the public should leave it to the police and Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) to investigate.

A Facebook user who goes by the name of Lin Ling comments that people should not cause unnecessary hurt and distress by simply naming anyone who they thought was a suspect.

“I understand that people want justice to be done. I want it too. But they have to capture the real culprit, not an innocent party,” she says.

She adds that she tried explaining this idea in the group but her comments were deleted by the administrators.

Podcast producer John Lim believes that people are too ready to believe what they read on the Internet and don’t check the facts. This is further complicated by social media tools such as Twitter that offer the opportunity to respond spontaneously, he points out.

“In an emotional topic like animal abuse, people are going to respond. That might be the consequence of the social media being easily usable,” he says.

Only a few days ago, the police issued a statement denying a message about a child kidnapping that had spread like wildfire through SMS and social networking sites.

The message urged those who saw a white MyVi bearing a certain number plate to call a Mr Rashid at a given number. The person in the car had allegedly driven away with a baby in the Puchong area.

“You can’t blame social media or technology. It’s just a tool. It’s the responsibility of the users to check the authenticity of the information,” says Lim.

Medium of exposure

On the other hand, he says, social media has helped fuel the Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions through the dissemination of information.

Siew, however, believes that in the poodle abuse video case, broadcasting the video on the Internet was not the right thing to do. She argues that while any wrongdoing needs to be exposed, especially those that are shown to have caused direct harm such as in the poodle abuse case, what should have been done was to inform the relevant authorities.

“The person taking the video would know the location of the crime and could have informed the authorities without doing this street vigilantism. If they feared reprisals, this is where protection of sources come in, and a Whistleblower Protection Act can help.”

Siew highlights another principle at stake here.

“Media ethics require that persons suspected of a crime are not named until they are charged. The same principle works here even if the person may not be a journalist or know better, because on the Internet, any user is a publisher. We protest about state control of the Internet and argue for self-regulation, yet this is how we do it,” she notes.

David Lian, from the APAC Social Media Practice Lead, Text 100, believes reactions will vary from person to person depending on their upbringing and disposition.

He says that while some people take information at face value, there are those who are cynical about everything they read on the Internet.

In the poodle abuse case, he says animal lovers might believe anything even though its hearsay information.

“If you have a vested interest, you would be naturally outraged,” he says, adding that he also wonders if anything can be done about those spreading false information.

“There is a human tendency to believe in rumours regardless of the medium,” he says.