Preventing emotional manipulation by online scammers (Poll Inside)

Unscrupulously devious: Online scammers have become highly sophisticated technologically and emotionally to exploit our emotions, including trust, desires and fears. — 123rf.com

THERE is growing alarm about the prevalence and consequences of online scams affecting Malaysians.

According to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission’s Internet User Survey 2022, 68.5% of respondents experienced online scams and fraud (an increase of over 21% since 2020). Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) statistics meanwhile showed that there have been 32,462 reports of online scams (up from 25,480 in 2022) amounting to financial losses of about RM1.3bil since January this year.