JOHOR BARU, Sept 17 — Online fraud cases in Johor increased by 15.5 per cent to 2,079 cases from January 1 to September 16, compared to 1,800 cases in the same period last year.

Johor Police chief Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat said a total loss of RM71.857 million was recorded during the same period this year compared to RM57.026 million last year.

He said most of the cases involved online purchases (485 cases), followed by non-existent investments (382), phone scams (368 cases), job offers (361 cases) and non-existent loans (338 cases).

"A total of 478 out of 2,079 cases were reported by victims to the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC),” he said in a statement today.

Kamarul Zaman called on the public to be more vigilant when conducting dealings online to avoid becoming a victim of fraud.

Kamarul Zaman said the public should first check the phone number and bank account used by the suspect through the "Semak Mule” application provided online by the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (JSJK).

"The public is also urged to always follow JSJK’s social media pages such as on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to find out the latest modus operandi of commercial crimes.

"If you have become a victim of fraud, please immediately call the NSRC at 997 so that early action can be taken to block the outflow of money from the suspect’s account,” he said. — Bernama