KUCHING: Consumers are safe from getting scammed online if they are abreast with the latest related information.
As such they are advised to be updated with knowledge and precautionary act that can prevent them from falling into online scam, said Consumers Voice Association of Sarawak (COVAS) president Michael Tiong.
He said online scam is not new and it has been in existence since the era of internet decades ago.
“Scammers are much focused and have specialised skills that could lure consumers into their trap.
“An empty hand is no lure for a hawk and is true where victims are attracted to the irresistible offer, a promising prize, a too-good-to-be-true life time chances and especially when it touches on monetary matters,” he said when speaking to New Sarawak Tribune on Thursday.
his pertains to the highest report of online scam towards consumers received by the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry.
The report and statistics show that online scam are on the rise in various cases and most of it are organised crime and targeted at certain groups of victims, he stated.
“Consumers need to control needs versus want. Normally it is the want that will lead them to such trap and they regret later.
“They must buy from reliable platforms with legally verified seller such as Lazada and Shopee.
“At best, avoid buying from social media where more than 90 per cent of online scams happen especially with the personal seller who is without any registered company,” he told.
He said on such cases, more often than not, only greedy consumers are ones who fall easily into such tactics.
“Meanwhile, the government should be more involved as its officers have easier access into the system that scammers are using and the intelligence unit has better chance of tracking wrong doers and enforce laws on them,” he said.
On Wednesday, from an exclusive interview with BERNAMA, the minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi, said the expanding e-commerce sector which saw more consumers using online transactions following the COVID-19 pandemic, has indirectly invited many scammers, using various tactics and tricks by exploiting the technology, to commit fraud.
He said most of the fraud cases involved online transactions, as well as misleading services, imitation goods and misleading prices.
“The ministry received a total of 15,957 complaints from consumers for the period from Jan 1 to July 31 this year, and of that number, online scams recorded the highest number with 4,760 cases, misleading prices (4,187) and misleading services (3,289),” Nanta, who is also Kapit MP, said.
