These are calls where victims have been informed that they have arrears that requires an immediate payment and account numbers (scammers accounts) are provided for the payments.

What should you do?

• Ignore the call, hang up immediately and report their number to the authorities. As a rule of thumb, always remember, the authorities will never call for an investigation over the phone.
• If you are doubtful whether it could have been a genuine call, please cross check the call using details from the government officials/LHDN official website.
• Vigilance is your best defense against fraud if and when you encounter such suspicious calls. Do not, under any circumstance entertain these requests. If you encounter such a call, please remain calm and disconnect the call immediately.
• Lodge a report to the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) at a nearby police station. The public can also contact the Royal Malaysia Police PDRM via the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID ) Infoline at 013-211 1222 or the Commercial Crime Investigation Department ( CCID) Scam Response Centre at 03-2610 1559 or 03-2610 1599.

In these scam scenarios, victims are added into a chat group which could either be a WhatsApp or Telegram chat group. The chat participants would claim they have made huge returns as an enticement tactic. A link thereafter is provided to the victim to initiate a payment. This link installs an Android Package Kit ( apk ) file into unsuspecting victim’s phone. What should you do?

• Always be wary of any unknown groups chats you have been added into.
• Quickly exit the chat specially when it promises investments that seems too good to be true.
• Never click on any links provided and never under any circumstances share your OTP or card details or any other personal banking details to anyone. Any request for your personal banking details should never be entertained.
• When in doubt of whether an investment is genuine, you can check the validity of investors via SSM - Companies Commission of Malaysia and the SC - Securities Commission Malaysia.
• To contact the SSM, you can reach them at their customer care line at 03-7721 4000 or alternatively you can email them at enquiry@ssm.com.my. To contact the SC, you can call their hotline at (603) 6204 8999 or email them at aduan@seccom.com.my.
• If you suspect that you have encountered an investment scam, please contact the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) at 997.

Victim contacts seller via Instagram to make the purchase. Seller is advised to transfer payment into the scammers account for the item to be delivered however the item is not sent post the payment arrangement. Victim tries to contact the seller but is unable to reach them and then victim realizes that they have been scammed.

What should you do?

• Whenever you see an offer on high-value product going at unbelievably low prices please be wary. In most cases when an offer seems too good to be true it usually is.
• Always verify the identity of the person you are aliasing with, especially when there are movement of your funds involved.
• If you suspect that you have encountered an investment scam, please contact the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) at 997.

The scammer offers the victims a commission-based job to perform certain tasks. Part of this task involves the victim transferring an initial amount of money. The victim is required to access a website provided to perform the tasks and he will earn money post completing this task. The victim completes the task and earns a certain amount for it. Subsequently the scammer advises the victim to top up the amount which he had initially transferred to move on to a bigger task with a higher return. This goes on until the victim ends up performing huge fund transfers only to realize that the final task ended up scamming them of all their money.

What can you do?

• Always be wary when you have been added into any chat groups specially when it consists of people you don’ know of.
• Always check the credentials of a company when you have been offered a job. Go to their official website and try to look for reviews to ensure it is legitimate.
• Typically, in any job offer, it is unlikely that you would need to initiate a payment to commence the job.
• If you suspect that you have been scammed, please do contact the National Scam Response Centre at 997 between 8am to 8pm daily and lodge a police report.

Victim applies for a job by clicking a link he found on Google Search. He is then directed to a WhatsApp group. The scammer then contacts the victim via mobile and informs him that he needs to make an upfront payment before the job commences and is promised that a refund will be provided upon the task completion. Victims performs the fund transfer and gets scammed of their savings.

What should you do?

• Always be wary when you are added into a chat group. Research the company that is trying to recruit you and verify the recruiter’s contact information.
• Do not arrange for any payments, you will never need to arrange for a payment to get a job. This should be a red flag when you see such a prerequisite.
• Do not continue with any interaction. Quickly exit and report the chat group.

Victim receives an automated call purportedly from UOB that a huge unauthorized amount of funds in their savings account has been used and the victim needs to verify this by dialing 0 to be connected to a representative. As the amount stated in the call is high, this would create a sense of panic in the victim causing them to immediately follow the instructions stated in the call. These instructions involve the victim temporarily transferring out their remaining funds into a secure account which is provided by the scammer.

This alternate account is the account used to scam the victims out of all their funds. Once the funds have been transferred, the victim is informed that they would be contacted after a few days on an update of the investigation.

What should you do?

• As a rule of thumb, please always be wary of such automated calls. This tactic is often used by scammers as automated calls tend to give a legit feel to the call.
• Try not to panic and do not entertain such calls especially when you know you have not performed such transactions.
• Hang up the call and directly call up the bank and verify this claim.
• Check your accounts regularly and look at your purchases to verify if any transactions seem suspicious.

Victim finds an advertisement about a travel agent representing a known travel agency. The victim accesses the link provided to browse through all their travel packages that are currently being offered. It emphasized that it is for a limited time and the victim also notices several feedback have been posted on that fake website alleging how excellent the packages being offered are. The victim also notices that there is an endorsement on this site by the government.

This luring tactic of an irresistible package for a limited time is a common tactic used by scammers to entice their victims. The victim thereafter is required to download an application on their mobile which is provided by the scammer to purchase their boarding pass. Post downloading this unknown application, scammers are able to gain access to the victims mobile. Scammers will use this access to read and obtain your transaction alerts and/or OTP numbers.

What should you do?

• Never download any unknown applications, especially when it is not from any known application store such as Play Store or Apps Store. Avoid clicking on any pop ups or links from any social media or any e-commerce platforms. You are putting yourself at risk.
• Always verify these packages using the official websites or contact them using their official contact number.
• Check the URL addresses to confirm that it is secure site.
• Be wary of any offers that seem to be too good to be true specially when it is for a limited time only.
• As a rule of thumb, always remember that government agencies will never endorse commercial entities.
• If you suspect that you have encountered a travel scam or you have fallen victim to a travel scam, please submit a complaint via the Public Complaints Management System – SISPAA. To contact SISPAA, you can contact them via email at http://moh.spab.gov.my or you can reach them at either one of the two following numbers which are 1300 885 465 or 603 2174 1717.
• You can also visit the Official Portal of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia to obtain information regarding registered travel agencies.