Police here have once again advised the public not to be made fools by illegal syndicates out to con them of their
money.
“Some people are still falling prey to scams despite police reminders,” noted Sabah Commercial Crime Investigation Department chief Supt Jauteh Dikun.
He cited the latest case in Sandakan where the victim was duped through the mobile phone into topping up the air time of a handphone number to qualify for a competition offering cash prizes up to RM10,000.
“The victim then received a short messaging service (SMS) informing him that he had won and instructed him to claim the prize at the Milimewa supermarket.
When he got there, he found out that there was no such competition.” Four similar reports were lodged last month involving a loss of RM2,000, Jauteh told a press conference here today.
“We are getting the cooperation of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to track the owners of the dubious handphone numbers,” he said.
He did not dismiss the possibility that the syndicates were masterminded by foreigners. Meanwhile, Jauteh said, Internet fraud was becoming a worrying trend in Sabah even though statistics showed a reduction in cases.
“From January to August this year, there were 92 cases involving a loss of RM1,999,663 compared to 105 cases involving a loss of RM3,304,548 in the corresponding period last year.”
He said the total number of commercial crime cases in Sabah showed a decrease, with 868 cases from January to August this year compared to 896 in the corresponding period last year.
– Bernama
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