PETALING JAYA: A total of 58 cases of loan scams with losses almost reaching RM700,000 have been recorded in the district this year.
Petaling Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Nik Ezanee Mohd Faisal said 28 people have been detained in connection with loan scams between January and November.
"The syndicates would advertise loan offers on Facebook or WhatsApp.
"The victims who are suffering from financial troubles might be enticed by the low monthly repayment rates and the promise of fast approval on the loans," he said in a statement on Wednesday (Dec 2).
The victims would realise that they have been duped when they had to pay various fees for the loan, he added.
"Those fee payments are then transferred to various individual accounts.
"When the victims questioned them on when the loans will be approved once the fees were settled, the syndicates would give various excuses before they stop answering calls or replying to messages," he said.
ACP Nik Ezanee said the victims would then receive nothing after paying various fees for the loan.
"The suspects would use various mule bank accounts for their transactions.
"These mule account holders are paid by the syndicates so that their accounts could be used," he added.
ACP Nik Ezanee advised the public to only deal with legitimate financial institutions when obtaining loans.
"Don't be easily fooled by so-called sweet offers for loans advertised on social media," he said.
Did you find this article insightful?
100% readers found this article insightful
