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