KUCHING: The district’s Commercial Crime Investigation Division (CCID) recorded a total of 131 cases of loan scams since 2021.
Kuching OCPD ACP Ahsmon Bajah, in a statement, said the figure was recorded from 2021 until Feb 22 this year (2023).
The losses incurred amounted to RM1,157,541.32.
The modus operandi of non-existent loan scams is that the scammers would advertise money loan offers through print media, social media or text messages.
“The victims will then contact the suspects via phone calls or WhatsApp through the phone numbers listed in the advertisement.
“These scammers do not have an office or a valid business license hence, the scam is dealt with through phone calls and messages.
“Once the victims are hooked with the offer, they will usually be asked to make various payments such as security deposit, stamp duty, insurance and legal fees to a mule account before their loan is approved,” he said.
As soon as the payments are made, the suspect will disappear and they could not be contacted again.
Therefore, Ahsmon advised the public to be more vigilant before making any transfer to a third-party account.
They should also check the recipient’s bank account number via http://ccid.rmp.gov.my/semakmule/.
If anyone is a victim of a scam, he or she can contact the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) at 997, the WhatsApp CCID Infoline on 013-2111222 for further action.
For further inquiries, they can follow the social media pages of @JSJKPDRM and @CyberCrimeAlertRMP or download the Whoscall application to track the scammer’s phone number.
