SEREMBAN: Commercial crime cases in Negeri Sembilan have increased, with losses reaching RM47.74 million from January to May this year, compared to RM33.84 million in the same period last year.
During this period, 1,351 commercial crime cases were reported in Negeri Sembilan, compared to 1,033 cases reported the previous year, said state deputy police chief SAC Muhammad Idzam Jaafar.
He said this reflected an increase of 318 cases, or 30.8 per cent, while the total losses also rose by RM13.9 million, or 41.1 per cent, compared to the same period last year.
“Online scams were the main type of commercial crime reported in the state, constituting 82 per cent of all commercial crime cases.
“These scams, involving telecommunications fraud (480 cases), online purchase scams (248), non-existent investment schemes (208), fake loan scams (151), and love or parcel scams (22), have resulted in losses exceeding RM42 million,“ he said in a statement today.
Meanwhile, he said police had detected a new phone scam, where perpetrators pose as Touch’ n Go card agents and police officers.
Muhammad Idzam said the scammers would claim that the victim’s Touch ‘n Go card had been misused by a third party and that the victim was allegedly involved in money laundering and drug-related crimes.
“To resolve the issue, the victim is asked to provide details of their assets, including cash and jewellery. They are then instructed to transfer money to a specified bank account and hand over their jewellery to a runner for investigation purposes.
“Following investigations, police traced and seized jewellery that had been pawned by the runner at gold shops and pawnshops around Selangor,“ he said, adding that the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
He advised gold and pawnshop owners not to accept bulk and suspicious pawned items from individuals.
