‘Greed and risky mindset lead to more victims’

PETALING JAYA: High-risk behaviours and greed are among the factors that have led to many Malaysians becoming modern-day slaves, a recent survey by a group of academics concludes.

Despite being knowledgeable about the activities of scam syndicates, which have been highlighted to the public numerous times, these individuals were willing to take the risk, the survey revealed.

It showed that 59.38% of the respondents were aware of the risks associated with scam syndicates, but many still became victims, said Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman’s Tun Tan Cheng Lock Centre for Social and Policy Studies chairman Dr Chin Yee Mun. Chin, together with academics from Universiti Teknologi Mara’s Academy of Contemporary Islamic Studies in Perlis and the Centre for Malaysian Chinese Studies (Huayan), conducted the survey to analyse Malaysians’ view or perception towards the risks of being taken for a ride by scammers.

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The survey, which was supported jointly by The Star, Sin Chew Daily, Astro Awani, Sinar Harian and Malaysia Nanban, showed that the majority of the 991 respondents strongly agreed that they were aware of and understood the risks posed by scammers.

“We found 59.38% of the respondents agreeing strongly when asked if they were aware of scam operatives working to lure victims while 32.34% said they agreed.

“Only 1.1% said they disagreed and another 2.5% said they strongly disagreed,” said Chin.

The survey also found that about 10% of the respondents believed that pursuing unverified lucrative job offers would not necessarily land them in the hands of scammers.

Chin said the response reflects a worrying possibility.

“It shows that Malaysians know about the scams but many are willing to take the risk. They want to see if the suspicious job offers, for example, are genuine. I can agree that (greed) plays a role in their decision.

“But to be fair, there are also those who felt they needed to take the risks because they are desperate for a better source of income.”

Universiti Teknologi Mara Perlis’ Dr Azhar Abdul Rahman said that some chose to take risks because of greed.

“These people are mostly loners and do not socialise with others. Some do not know what is happening around the world and they choose to be on their own.

“They want to have it all easy and not have to work hard. But at the end of the day, they will regret it,” he said.