src='https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-2513966551258002'/> Rightways: CHARLES RAMENDRAN Infolinks.com, 2618740 , RESELLER

Pages

Share This

Showing posts with label CHARLES RAMENDRAN. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CHARLES RAMENDRAN. Show all posts

Friday, November 8, 2024

A web of scum and villainy, Scam complaints in Malaysia up 300% since 2019

PETALING JAYA: They were professionals in the field of finance, banking, accounting, education and information technology, and were well aware that cyberspace was rife with scams.

However, this did not shield even them from being scammed by a syndicate with members posing as seasoned stockbrokers supposedly from well-known investment firms based overseas.

A frugal and astute investor, finance manager Ken Wong – who lost over RM450,000 – had made wise financial choices throughout his working life, building a secure nest egg for his future and family.

With a background in accounting and being savvy in financial matters, the 41-year-old employee of a logistics company never expected to find himself ensnared by a deceptive investment scheme.

Although he was aware of scams in cyberspace, all it took was six weeks of cunning, convincing and crafty assurances by scammers before Wong was ripped out of his hard-earned savings.

“I am very thrifty and careful with my expenditure, saving as much as I can for my family, and this is really devastating.

“What if this happens to someone in their old age? It would engulf that person with hopelessness. This is why I would label these scammers as nothing less than ‘murderers’ as they can kill a person by snatching away their sanity and future,” he said.

Still reeling from his loss, Wong said it all started in May when he spotted an advertisement on Facebook that offered insights and short courses on foreign stock investments.

Out of curiosity, he clicked on a link and was promptly greeted by a person who introduced him to the courses, which were being offered for a fee of RM364.

He was then added to a WhatsApp group where lessons were conducted by several foreigners.

Wong said at first, the group only discussed matters related to the course and shared tips on stock investments.

(Click To Enlarge)(Click To Enlarge)

However, weeks later, the scammers, claiming to be foreign institutional investors (FIIs), started introducing and encouraging investments in foreign initial public offering (IPO) stocks, assuring him he could double his money.

Wong said he downloaded the company’s application and what started with a RM10,000 investment led to him pumping in more funds until he realised he was being deceived by bad actors.

He later learnt that the scammers had cloned real-time foreign stock exchange webpages and created features that convinced their victims to believe they were managing their own funds.

“They were so convincing and persuasive, encouraging us to manage our own investments.

“Having downloaded their app and transferring my funds to local business bank accounts were other factors that had me into believing it was a legitimate business,” he said.

“On record, my investment had doubled, but I could not make any withdrawals. When I questioned them, they demanded I invest another RM1.7mil if I wanted to make withdrawals. This is when I realised I had been fleeced.”

Wong said he was in touch with nine other victims including other professionals in the field of investment and finance, and they formed a group to seek avenues to recover their lost funds.

Another victim, who wanted to be known only as Queenie, said she decided to join the scheme after seeing it on Instagram.

“I felt confident because the scammers had fraudulently used the photos of a well-known investment influencer to promote their scheme. They claimed we could receive returns of over 400%.

“Now that I have lost my life savings, there are feelings like anger, sadness and denial.

“I think I am going through depression,” said the 46-year-old banker, who lost over RM230,000, part of which she had borrowed from a friend.

A 41-year-old private university lecturer said he lost RM120,000 of his savings and from his parents’ retirement fund.

He said he was invited to join a WhatsApp group by a woman who claimed to be a Singaporean.

“She told me that she was invited by the government to educate Malaysians on stock investments and encouraged me to join her classes. No payments were demanded in the beginning, but we were then lured into investing after weeks of receiving tutorials on stocks,” he said.

Siva, a 32-year-old office administrator, said he lost RM200,000 that he had partly borrowed from his family.

“I had saved the funds to buy a house as I am getting married soon. I do not know how to break this news to my family,” he said.

All four victims have lodged police reports.

The syndicate, operating under the guise of being stockbrokers, was busted by commercial crime police in September when 17 suspects aged between 23 and 52 were held.

Police said the syndicate had raked in over RM33mil from victims and at least six more suspects are being hunted, with 66 police reports lodged since January.


Source link


PETALING JAYA: Complaints and enquiries on scams and unlicensed activities shot up by over 300% between 2019 and 2023, according to the Securities Commission (SC).

The commission’s Investors Alert List sighted by The Star also revealed that some 15 sites were flagged by the SC for operating as potential clone entities so far this year.

Clone entities are outfits that misuse the name and credentials of legitimate financial and investment bodies.

In the SC’s 2023 annual report, it was revealed that the regulator received 3,262 complaints and enquiries on scams and unlicensed activities – a 321% increase within those four years.

The SC said social media platforms such as Facebook and messaging apps like Telegram continue to be the primary mode for perpetrators to carry out their illegal activities.

“A new modus operandi observed in 2023 was the use of e-wallets and cryptocurrency as the mode of payment involving investment scams, compared with the mule bank accounts that were used previously.

“This may be designed to avoid easy detection and prompt interventions by enforcement agencies,” it added.

In addition to taking action based on complaints and enquiries, the SC has also dedicated a unit to proactively monitor and detect unlicensed activities and online scams targeting Malaysians.

As of Dec 31, 2023, a total of 569 URLs offering unlicensed activities to Malaysians were detected online.

This was a 49% jump from the 382 URLs detected in 2022.

“Of these, 51% were from Telegram, 27% from Facebook, 9% from Instagram and 13% from other sources such as websites, YouTube, and TikTok,” the SC said in its report.

The issuance of cease-and-desist notices, social media interventions, inclusion in the SC’s Investor Alert List, and the blocking of websites with assistance from the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) were among the actions taken against such sites.


Other actions were requests to block Telegram, Facebook and Instagram accounts; referrals to other agencies or foreign regulators; and lodging police reports.

“The SC has and will continue to proactively disrupt the activities of scammers and operators of unlicensed activities,” it said.

In this regard, the SC includes the names of entities and individuals found to be carrying on scams or unlicensed activities on its Investor Alert List as soon as possible – in most cases within 48 hours of receiving a complaint, it added.

The regulator noted that while some unlicensed activities are carried out locally by Malaysians with a local presence, there are also foreign entities carrying out unlicensed activities in Malaysia.

To create greater awareness, the SC said it has released a “more robust, dynamic and mobile-friendly” Investor Alert List called the Investment Checker, which serves as a one-stop centre for the public to check and verify the legitimacy of entities and individuals.

It has also set up a Scam Meter page and does radio and television interviews on scams and unlicensed activities.

Recently, the Finance Ministry told Parliament that the SC had blocked nearly 200 social media sites and over 100 websites linked to illegal investment schemes, placing 184 entities on a watchlist and filing charges against some.

Offshore platforms were blocked with help from MCMC, while the SC advises public awareness on fraudulent tactics.



Friday, October 6, 2023

Weeding out the black sheep, Bad boys sacked



 KERATAN AKHBAR PILIHAN: WEEDING OUT THE BLACK SHEEP, BUKIT AMAN WILL NOT COMPROMISE WHEN IT COMES TO ROGUE PERSONNEL (rmp.gov.my)  

PDRM

 

KERATAN AKHBAR PILIHAN: WEEDING OUT THE BLACK SHEEP, BUKIT AMAN WILL NOT COMPROMISE WHEN IT COMES TO ROGUE PERSONNEL 

Bad boys sacked



Bukit Aman will not compromise when it comes to rogue personnel

Despite stern reminders by the top brass to stay clear of criminal activities, more than 60 officers and rank-and-file policemen have been expelled since January this year for committing crimes such as theft, drug-pushing and abduction. Bukit Aman Integrity and Standard Compliance Department director Comm Datuk Seri Azri Ahmad says the force acts promptly and does not compromise on rogue personnel.

Petaling Jaya, 5 Oktober 2023 - In just 10 weeks, almost 70 police personnel have been arrested for alleged wrongdoings in cases that were reported nationwide.

The 70 policemen were arrested in connection with six cases in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Negri Sembilan, Perak and Kedah.

Among the crimes they allegedly committed were abduction, theft, drug pushing and drug abuse.

Deputy Inspector General of Police, DIG Dato’ Sri Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay in a recent news report said that between January and July, 62 personnel were expelled from the force, while hundreds of others were punished with disciplinary action for various offences.

He said that last year, 154 officers and rank-and-file personnel were sacked from the 135,000 strong police force, compared to 117 in 2021.

A recent case on Sept 26 involved five policemen, including an officer-in-charge of a police station (OCS), who were arrested in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, for abduction, wrongful confinement and assault.

Director of Integrity and Standard Compliance Department, CP Dato’ Sri Azri Ahmad said, the cases of errant police personnel are not taken lightly as they could erode public confidence and put the force in a bad light.

“We always act promptly when such cases are reported, and there is no compromise. The first thing we do is remove the errant personnel from their posts and distance them from the public so they cannot continue abusing their power. An internal or criminal investigation, or both, is then carried out depending on the offence committed,” he told The Star.

Comm Azri said that apart from being charged in court, internal actions against police personnel include suspension, removal from active duty, demotion, freeze in promotion and pay cut.

Criminologist Datuk Dr P. Sundramoorthy of Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Centre for Policy Research said the rise in cases of police misconduct and power abuse over a period of just over two months is worrying.

“These are cases that went public. How many more are unreported? There should be zero tolerance for rogue cops, and those who violate the law must have stern action taken against them.

“Accountability is the key component, and the responsibility lies on the shoulders of the heads of department to weed out such bad hats. It is also high time for the government to form an independent commission to investigate such cases involving members of the police force.

“Often, people are reluctant to report any unpleasant encounter with crooked cops. When such cases are exposed, it will restore public confidence and encourage people to step up and lodge formal complaints,” he said.

The latest case occurred in Desa Petaling where five policemen, including an inspector with shady alliances with gambling den syndicates, allegedly abducted a 26-year-old man on the order of the syndicate’s leader before confining the victim at a police station.

The victim, who was the caretaker of a gambling den, was allegedly snatched from a restaurant and assaulted after his employer accused him of stealing more than RM13,000 and demanded that he repay three times the sum.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Comm Datuk Allaudeen Abdul Majid said the case took place because the suspects lacked integrity and put self-interest above their duty as policemen.

On Sept 18, four policemen, one with a previous criminal record for extortion, were arrested for aiding two suspects to steal 40m of copper cables belonging to Telekom Malaysia in Taman Kanagapuram, Petaling Jaya.

On Aug 29, 37 police personnel, including officers, were arrested in Johor by the Malaysian Anticorruption Commission for taking kickbacks and tampering with urine samples meant for testing drug abuse since 2018.

On Aug 19, 15 policemen were arrested in a raid along with two public prosecutors for misconduct after they patronised an entertainment outlet in Seremban.

On Aug 10, a 32-year-old policeman from the Seberang Perai district police headquarters was arrested for drug pushing in Sungai Petani, Kedah. He was found in possession of over five kg of syabu.

On July 8, six policemen who were arrested at an entertainment outlet in Ipoh tested positive for drug abuse. The raiding party from Bukit Aman also recovered drugs from the men.

Related posts:


King: Lies will ruin country, speak the truth, avoid slander

Slander and lies will undermine the country’s stability and harmony, says Yang di-pertuan Agong Al-sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-mustafa Billah Shah. His Majesty has called on the people to emulate the Prophet Muhammad’s noble character in speaking the truth.