IPOH, Sept 14 — Perak recorded a 37 per cent increase in scam-related cases from January to August this year, as the police opened 1,957 investigation papers for the period compared to 1,433 for the same period in 2022.

Perak Commercial Crime Investigation Department chief Supt Hasbullah Abd Rahman said 2,067 scam cases were recorded from January until yesterday.

According to reports, records, and police investigations, various primary forms of fraud were commonly reported by victims in the state. These include "phone scams”, where individuals impersonate law enforcement agencies, couriers, courts, and the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) through phone calls, he added.

"The commonly used modus operandi involves hoodwinking the victim that their financial transactions breached the law, and such tactics have deceived many victims, resulting in losses of millions of ringgit,” he said in a programme streamed live on PerakFM’s Facebook page here today.

At the same time, he said there were also online scams involving job offers, often related to part-time work as sales agents that promise generous salaries or wages.

"With this tactic, individuals are instructed to buy products through sales channels and are promised a commission for each purchase. For example, they begin with a low purchase price for an item and are guaranteed a 10 per cent commission before it goes up,” he said.

Another common scam involves fake loan offers on social media. These scams have unusual conditions, where borrowers are required to make an advance payment before getting a loan, supposedly for processing purposes, Hasbullah added.

Based on his department’s research and investigative observations, Hasbullah found the public is easily deceived by scammers due to fear of the threats posed by these criminals and also greed and a lack of awareness about the relevant crimes.

Hasbullah advised the public to be cautious of such crimes including love scams. He also emphasised the importance of verifying with the authorities if there are doubts and being cautious with overly tempting offers.

He also urged people to reach out to the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) at 997 and report incidents at the nearest police station.

Additionally, they can visit semakmule.rmp.gov.my or the Facebook pages of the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (JSJK PDRM) and Cyber Crime Alert Royal Malaysia Police for information regarding scams. — Bernama