Melaka Victims Include Professionals With RM66 Mln Losses In Over 1,900 Online Fraud Cases

MELAKA, Dec 16 (Bernama) -- Online fraud cases in Melaka continue to show a worrying trend after 1,976 cases were recorded, with losses of more than RM65.9 million for the period from Jan 1 to yesterday (Dec 15) compared to RM72 million in losses recorded throughout last year.

State Deputy Exco for Science, Technology, Innovation and Digital Communications Datuk Mohd Noor Helmy Abdul Halem said during the same period, a total of 1,229 arrests were made involving 740 charges.

"The increase in cases is very worrying, considering that this year has not run out, aside from showing a significant change in the profile of victims, which now also targets professionals.

"If previously most victims were housewives and civil servants, now statistics show that those working as doctors, bank officers, managers, lawyers, and teachers are also not spared from becoming victims of fraud," he said at Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Duyong here today.

Earlier, he officiated the SWM Kasih Back-to-School Programme and presented school supplies to 50 students in the Duyong State Legislative Assembly constituency.

Elaborating further, Mohd Noor Helmy said the scams involve various modus operandi, including investment fraud, love scams, free gift offers and lucky draws, which ultimately led victims to incur huge losses.

He said the technology used by fraud syndicates was now increasingly sophisticated, cunning and interconnected (scammers networking), whereby victims caught in one scheme would be targeted with other schemes like online loans, fake lawyers and financial recovery offers.

"We hope the public will be more aware and avoid making hasty decisions to avoid fraudulent tactics that can result in losses," he said.

He expressed concern over the involvement of children and teenagers in social media-related scams, including cases of kids as young as eight years old lured into buying goods online and using their parents' debit cards without permission.

He also said that this year, there was also a reported case involving a 17-year-old student in Melaka who lost up to RM300,000 after being deceived by a lucky draw offer, which started as a small scam before escalating to the use of savings, family debit cards and pawning of jewellery.

"This issue proves that technology control alone is not enough without close parental monitoring as well as the role of the family in educating children about the risks of digital scams.

"The government can enact laws and increase awareness but the most important control begins at home. Parents must be alert to their children's behaviour and not take their use of social media lightly," he added.

-- BERNAMA