PUTRAJAYA: Complaints of online fraud have been on the rise and constitute the second-highest number of grouses after those on price increases, said Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
He said that on average, up to 25% of the complaints received from consumers every month by the ministry is on online fraud while 35% is on price increases.
“Consumer complaints on online fraud were previously at seventh or eighth position, but now they are in the second position just behind price-increase complaints,“ he told a press conference here today after delivering a keynote address at the Domestic Trade and Consumerism Forum.
Saifuddin Nasution said the drastic rise (of online fraud) occurred in just a year and it should be given attention in line with the growing trend of the e-commerce business.
He said e-commerce is a good business trend and cannot be checked, but it still has certain implications because online merchants are not bound by healthy business ethics.
However, the ministry had always been carrying out education activities for online entrepreneurs to practise good business ethics and fairness to consumers, he said.
The ministry, through the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM), has also created BizTrust and its role is to register every company that conducts online or e-commerce business, he said.
“Consumers can check whether the transactions carried out with a company are guaranteed based on the BizTrust rating recorded on the company’s profile in the SSM records,“ he said.
Another initiative to address the problem is doubling the quantum of fine imposed by the Tribunal for Consumer Claims Malaysia (TTPM) to RM50,000, he said. — Bernama
