Cops warn of new parcel scam

PETALING JAYA: Gullible Malaysians are still falling prey to “parcel scams” despite repeated warnings from the authorities.

Police have now warned of a new “parcel scam” in which scammers may spend months building an online relationship with victims before asking for money.

Federal Police Commercial Crimes Investigation Department (CCID) deputy director (Cyber and Multimedia Investigation) Senior Asst Comm Datuk Mohd Kamaruddin Md Din said there was a case where a victim was scammed of RM847,000.

SAC Mohd Kamaruddin said that the victim met the suspect online.

“The suspect promised to send a parcel loaded with money, jewellery, an iphone, computers and clothing,” he said, adding that the victim received calls from a customs officer demanding tax and insurance fee for the parcel.

“The victim transferred the money into several accounts,” SAC Kamaruddin said.

He said the victim then went to the nearest police station to lodge a police report after realising it was a scam.

It was reported last year that a syndicate was using a new “parcel scam” to con unsuspecting Malaysians, the CCID said.

In the Royal Malaysian Police Facebook cyber crime alert, members of the public were warned against a new type of scam.

It was reported previously that a study commissioned earlier this year by Telenor Group, a Norwegian multinational telecommunications company with operations in Scandinavia, Europe and Asia, found that Malaysia was the country most vulnerable to Internet scams.

The Internet scam study was aimed at gaining better understanding of common online rackets by polling 400 users, aged between 18 and 65, in four countries – Malaysia, India, Singapore and Thailand.

Malaysia topped the list with 46% of respondents saying that they had been victims of Internet scams.