KUALA LUMPUR: The public has been advised to exercise caution when they are added to chat groups on Telegram and WhatsApp, as they risk falling victim to non-existent online investment scams.
Yayasan Digital Malaysia chief operating officer Ahmad Faizal Zulkipli said investment scams are becoming rampant where promises of quick, lucrative returns lure victims, including profits of RM300 in just a few hours.
“This scam entices victims to invest RM50 to get RM300 profits within three hours. It is important to understand that while the group chat may have 30 people, only one or two are actual outsiders- the rest are syndicate members, most of whom are not even in Malaysia.
“...the language used by online scammers can often be a giveaway, as they do not use proper Malay. Some of them employ unusual terms that are rarely heard in our country. The safest practice is to avoid anything that seems too good to be true,“ he said while appearing as a guest on Bernama TV’s Apa Khabar Malaysia programme today.
Ahmad Faizal reminded the public to verify bank account numbers and phone numbers before investing online through the SemakMule portal introduced by the Royal Malaysia Police.
In a separate development, Ahmad Faizal advised traders to adopt digital payment terminal technology (DuitNow QR Soundbox) to prevent payment fraud while stressing the importance of verifying transactions each time a customer makes a payment.
He noted that a common tactic scammers use to deceive traders is fake payment receipts.
“This crime is evolving and is expected to persist, especially this week as people is busy shopping ahead of the upcoming festive season. Scammers will take advantage of this by deceiving sellers with fake transaction receipts,“ he said, adding that fake receipts can be easily generated using AI or purchased on the dark web.
“The receipt can also be set to appear as if it comes from any bank to deceive sellers,“ he added.
