Financial Fraud
and Online Scams
There’s a few reasons as to why the elderly are the preferred target of these criminals but the chief cause being that there’s a substantial portion of the elderly who are not aware of their tactics; especially in light of the electronic age contact where the ever increasing complexity of the virtual world is exploited by unscrupulous men.
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​Statistically speaking, in the period between January to October 2021, 8313 cases of fraud involving a collective amount of RM300 Million were recorded by the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (JSJK) of the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM). Such a worrisome statistic reflected the fact that Malaysians, despite the relentless efforts by PDRM and other relevant bodies, are susceptible to this perfidious conduct.
For the past decades, there has been a surge of scamming pandemics that have long since deprived many of their monetary possessions. It would be a misstatement to say that only a certain strata of the society is scammed; the truth is that people from all backgrounds notwithstanding their vocation are susceptible to these unruly, irresponsible lot.
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There’s no shortage of cases of people from professional backgrounds (such as teachers, bank officers etc) falling into these traps. Without prejudice to this fact, it is however pertinent for us to note that some sections of the society are far more likely to be scammed than the rest owing to their vulnerability; with the elderly being the prime target.
While the methodologies may vary, there are 4 main tactics that are often employed by scammers to trick people, especially the elderly. These include:
1. Phone Call Scam
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Scamming syndicates perpetrated by locals and foreigners alike make phone calls randomly, claiming to represent certain financial institutions.
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Victims would receive phone calls saying that their credit card issued by the supposed financial institution was used for the purpose of purchasing items at malls.
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The victims would deny the allegations of having balance due on their credit cards, to which the ‘bank’ would promise to liaise with the Central Bank (Bank Negara) regarding the problem and the call is hung up.
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Time may vary between a few minutes to a few hours for the syndicate to call the victims, now claiming to be representatives from the Central Bank, who would then request for the private credentials of the victims (IC number, Online Banking Details,Card numbers to name a few).
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On the pretext of stopping the misuse of the credit card, the representatives from the ‘Central Bank’ ordered the victims to go to the nearest automated teller machine (ATM), after which the victims would receive another call instructing the victim to make transactions to a third party account, unknowingly that the account is a fraudulent mule.
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The victims would only realise the fact that they have been defrauded after the transaction is complete, after which attempts to contact the ‘bank officers’ would fail.
2. Love Scam
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Baiting the victims with romantic words and false promises, this is another common theme for love ‘scammers’ to trap unmarried men/women or those who are of the elderly age desperate for love.
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Scammers would introduce themselves to the victims through Facebook, Emails, Twitter and other channels of social media assuming the identity of another person (Fake accounts)
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Sweet words and fake promises are henceforth used to emotionally attach the victims.
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During the period, they never meet the victims in person but the relationship endures through phone calls.
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After the victims become emotionally enthralled, scammers would start asking for sympathy and request for financial aid from victims.
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Those who have been tricked would make financial transactions to the suspect’s bank account, after which the scammers would disappear and block the victims on all means of communication.
3. Parcel Scam
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Victims would get into contact with the scammers through social media.
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As a token of friendship, these syndicates would typically send parcels of gifts allegedly containing jewelleries and cash to the victims.
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The victim would then be contacted by individuals claiming to represent the Customs Department. They would state that the parcels have arrived but the items are detained on the grounds of ‘non-payment of import tax, insurance or undeclared cash’.
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These supposed ‘officers’, who are in fact accomplices to these syndicates, would persuade the victims to make ‘clearance’ payment in order for the item to make it through the custom checkout.
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Once the payment is made to a certain third party account, the scammers would convince the victim to wait for a few more days for the item to be delivered; only to discover that the item was never in existence in the first place.
4. Lucky Draw SMS
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Victims would receive an SMS stating that they’d won a lucky draw contest abroad.
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They thus liaised with the fraudster for further details.
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Notwithstanding the details however, the end result would have it that the victims be required to make a monetary transaction to the suspect’s account on the premise of it being ‘collateral’.
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False assurance is given stating that the ‘money prize’ would be transferred to the victim’s account; after which the suspect is never heard of again.
Among the steps that may be taken include;
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1. Do not give out personal crucial details and information or transfer money to stranger accounts. Such details may be used for further scamming purposes in the future.
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2. Be critical and ask for crucial details and information from any person claiming to be representing the said institution. They are often put-off by this conduct.
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3. Never ever deposit or wire money to any entity or organisation that you are unsure of.
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4. Ask for certifications to prove authenticity.
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5. Do not panic. Scammers often capitulate on this as you are under the impression of being forced to make snap-decisions with little to no time to think clearly.
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6. Alternatively, scrutinise the banking details through online apparatus set up by the government. The example can be found in the image provided below.
In this instance, it may be found on this website linked here.
Image sample for No.6