He conned internet buyers for thousands of ringgit and disappeared. When a victim finally contacted him through short-message service (SMS), he sounded as proud as Lucifer- “I don’t think you will find me. If that was the case I would have been caught a long time ago.”
His name is Chan Wai Hou, a repetitive conman who is alleged to have duped around 30 victims through the internet since May 2009.
The total amount of loss suffered by the victims has now exceeded RM100,000, and Chan is showing no sign of slowing down as the latest victim fell prey to him on October 10.
Three victims today sought help from the MCA Public Service and Complaint Bureau chairman Michael Chong.
Michael Chong (third from left) showed the SMS reply from the conman
According to victim Looi Zi Qing, the conman camouflaged as a gadget seller and is active in internet forums and e-commerce platforms such asLowyat.net and Mudah.my.
Chan lures potential victims by offering a wide range of latest gadgets such as iPhones and PlayStation Portables (PSP)s for much lower prices compared to market values.
He avoids meeting the buyers in person with buyers and requests them to transfer funds to his account.
As soon as the buyers comply with this request, Chan turns could never be contacted again, presumably turning off his phone.
Komunitikini however understands that monetary transactions being done prior to receiving an item is a prevalent practice in e-commerce sites, though requires mutual trust between sellers and buyers.
Victims have his details, demand police action
Looi, who was conned in July 30, lodged a report at Bukit Jelutong the next day.
He soon realized that the conman is using a different username, phone number and also a different bank account to continue duping the public.
“My thread in Lowyat.net has registered 30 victims and all of us share a common thing, which is that we transferred money to a bank account named after Chan Wai Hou,” he said.
Looi
Looi also claimed he was approached by a self-proclaimed friend of Chan in August and the latter provided him with Chan’s details such as name, identification card number and house address.
“But when I approached the police to help us nab him, police rejected by saying they don’t have enough evidence,” he added.
He also bemoaned that in spite of numerous police reports that had been lodged by the victims since 2009, the latter only showed interest in branding the victims as “stupid”.
Michael Chong, meanwhile, warned the public to be extra careful while doing online transactions.
He also believed the victims’ number might easily have surpassed a hundred.
“Since 2008 we have received 40 complaints believed to be victimized by this person,” he said.
He added that he will refer the case to the Malaysia Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the Bukit Aman commercial crime desk.
Contact numbers of Chan Wai Hou (or sometimes known as Chan Wai Hoe) which was previously listed on his internet shop, include 010-249 6549, 010-290 3948, 016-643 1840, 016-326 0920 and 016- 978 1769.
CJMY
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