KUALA LUMPUR: Financial crimes, especially scams, have been plaguing the country for several years now, resulting in hundreds of millions of ringgit worth of losses.
The main ones are loan scams, investment scams, Macau scams, job scams, email hacks and SMS scams.
The Macau scam often starts with a phone call from someone pretending to be an officer from a bank, government or law enforcement agency or debt collector.
The scammer will then claim that the potential victim owes money, has an unpaid fine or even implicated in a crime.
The victim will then be given a choice to settle the matter by transferring their funds to a mule account designated by the “officer” or face “dire consequences”.
These unsuspecting victims will then be asked to make payments to get themselves off the hook.
Hundreds of millions of ringgit have been lost to the scammers who posed as officers from government agencies such as the police, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and even the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN).
The other type is the job scam where hundreds of Malaysians have been duped with offers overseas, only to be forced to work for scam syndicates.
Syndicates will advertise their dubious job offers on social media sites with the promise of lucrative salaries to unsuspecting Malaysians.
The victims will be lured to countries such as Cambodia and Myanmar where they are forced to work for syndicates and…
