More needs to be done to combat online scams, says SUPP man

KUCHING (Oct 29): More efforts are needed in the fight against online scams, with the number of cases seemingly on the rise lately, said Milton Foo.

In this regard, the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Public Complaints Bureau (PCB) chief urged the people to avoid clicking any links from online loan advertisements, and to instead seek financing from legitimate sources.

“Almost every day, we hear about people falling victim to online scammers, with some reporting to have lost large sums of money.

“This problem is becoming more rampant and affecting not only the direct victims, but their families too. Scammers may call the victim’s parents, siblings, or even children.

“They (scammers) may even use psychological tactics to intimidate the victims and their loved ones, pressuring them to give in to their demands,” he told a press conference at the SUPP headquarters here yesterday.

At the press conference, Foo highlighted the case of ‘Lee’, a local businesswoman in her 20s who on Oct 20 got involved in a loan scheme advertised via Facebook that promised ‘easy approvals’.

She clicked the link, which directed her to a form requesting her personal details.

On Oct 21, she received a WhatsApp message from an individual claiming to be a representative of the loan company, who asked her to provide additional documents including her MyKad, bank statement, and a selfie-photo of her holding her MyKad – all of which she complied with.

Later, the individual informed her that her RM50,000 loan had been approved, and asked for her bank details and the contact numbers of four family members.

After that, however, Lee began to feel suspicious when she was asked to transfer RM2,000 for ‘credit verification’, with a promise of a refund.

She later cancelled the transaction, but continued to receive threats.

“Yesterday (Oct 28), Lee was contacted by the individual again via WhatsApp, but from a new number, who demanded payment to ‘settle the matter’.

“They threatened to upload her personal details and family photos, and to slander her as a con-artist on Facebook if she refused to comply.

“Feeling intimidated and concerned, she met me yesterday at 5pm for help,” Foo told reporters, adding Lee has lodged a police report and that an investigation paper has been opened.

“The best that the police can do is to report the phone numbers and the so-called ‘mule’ bank account to the relevant authorities, so that the account can be frozen.

“But that’s all they can do,” he added, expressing frustration over the limited recourses.

Foo warned everyone to exercise online vigilance by avoiding links sent by strangers via platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Telegram or WhatsApp, adding that clicking such links could allow scammers to hack into their devices.

In this regard, the SUPP man expressed disbelief over the ability of scammers to access many phone numbers without being traced.

“It’s puzzling why the authorities are unable to trace these individuals when each phone number in Malaysia must be registered with MyKad.

“Who are the registered owners of these numbers, and how can they easily fall into the hands of scammers?”

In this respect, he called for more stringent laws and regulations to curb these scams.

He also raised concerns about the seemingly easy setting-up of ‘mule’ bank accounts at various banks.

“If the police had the registered phone numbers and account information, they could conduct the investigations. While some may argue that the scammers operate from abroad, without these two key pieces of information, it would become nearly impossible to track them down.

“We cannot allow this problem to persist, causing suffering to many people on daily basis.

“Since taking over the SUPP PCB two years ago, I have been receiving calls daily, and instead of seeing a decline in these scam cases, the problem seems to be intensifying, with more money falling into the hands of scammers,” he said.