KUCHING: Police have identified five most common types of scams currently plaguing victims across Sarawak as scammers are becoming increasingly cunning in deceiving the public.
Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Mancha Ata said recent investigations and crime statistics show scam syndicates are constantly refining their methods to exploit victims through increasingly deceptive and calculated approaches.
Among the five most common scams is e-commerce scam, where victims are either buyers or sellers.
“In cases involving buyers, the scammer offers goods at prices lower than market rates via social media and pressures the victim into making immediate payment to a mule account.
“In cases involving sellers, scammers pretend to be interested buyers and claim to have overpaid, providing a fake payment receipt.
“They then demand the excess amount be returned, threatening to lodge a police report if the victim refuses,” he said at a press conference this morning.
Another prevalent scam involves non-existent investments, typically advertised on Facebook and Telegram.
He shared that victims are promised high returns and instructed to download a fake investment app before being asked to transfer money into mule accounts.
Initially, victims receive small profits to gain their trust and are then persuaded to invest larger amounts. The scam becomes apparent when the promised profits stop and the scammer can no longer be contacted.
“Fake loan scams are the third most common scams with the suspects advertise loan services via social media, SMS, or newspaper ads.
“Victims communicate solely through WhatsApp and never meet the scammer. They often present fake documents, including a bogus Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) certificate, before asking for various upfront payments such as deposits, stamp duty, insurance, and legal fees,” he said.
Mancha said for job offer scams, victims are told to click a link to register a username and password before completing tasks.
The initial task involves making small purchases on an e-commerce platform using the victim’s own money.
Commissions ranging from 10 to 30 per cent are promised, which gradually push the victims into completing more tasks with larger payments.
Eventually, the commissions stop and the victims realise they have been scammed.
“Phone scams also continue to trick many. In these cases, scammers pose as bank officers, police, or government agency personnel, accusing the victim of being involved in criminal cases, unpaid taxes, or outstanding loans.
“The victims are threatened with arrest or legal action and told not to speak to anyone. They are then asked to reveal their banking information or transfer funds into mule accounts for alleged investigations,” he said.
Mancha also warned about the use of mule accounts whereby, scammers often recruit individuals to open multiple bank accounts under their names, offering monthly payments ranging from RM100 to RM3,000.
These accounts are then misused to facilitate fraudulent transactions.
He urged the public to be cautious, verify all financial dealings, and report any suspicious activities to the authorities immediately.
