MELAKA, June 4 — A total of 93 cases of online shopping fraud, involving losses amounting to nearly RM770,000, were reported in Melaka in the first five months of this year.
Melaka Commercial Crime Investigation Department chief Supt E. Sundra Rajan said that, of the total, 40 cases of fraud occurred through purchases on Facebook with a total loss of about RM480,000, followed by 30 cases on Instagram with a loss of over RM115,000.
He said 15 cases occurred via purchases on mudah.my, with losses amounting to over RM77,000, followed by four cases on WhatsApp (RM80,550) while two cases involved purchases on Shopee with a loss of nearly RM5,000.
He said there was one case each of fraud on Google and Lazada involving losses of about RM6,600 and RM6,000 respectively.
“Based on records, the victims consisted of businessmen, retirees, traders, government and private sector employees, self-employed persons and students.
“In terms of age, 31 victims ranged in age from 31 to 40 years old; 21 to 30 years (29 people); 41 to 50 years (13 people); over 51 years (10 people); 15 to 20 years (nine people); and 15 years and below (one person),” he said in a statement today.
He said an increasing number of cybercrime and fraud cases, including online scams, were reported each year as the spending habits of people in the country had moved to the online platform since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said the implementation of the Movement Control Order had also limited people’s movement, thus causing them to switch to online buying or selling.
Sundra Rajan advised the public not to easily believe the sale of goods online, especially those that offered cheaper prices than the market price as people may become victims of fraud.
“Always check dubious telephone numbers or account numbers on the website http://ccid.rmp.gov.my/semakmule before making any transaction,” he added. — Bernama
