‘Hundreds of millions fleeced from seniors’

KUALA LUMPUR: Although senior citizens made up only 6.4% of the 86,266 victims duped by online scams over the past three years, their losses hit hundreds of millions, says Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf.

The Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department director said from 2021 until 2023, a total of RM2.7bil has been lost to online scams.

“The amount of losses suffered by senior citizens makes up around 20% of the total amount, or RM552.5mil.

“It is a very significant number and alarming,” he told a press conference yesterday.

Comm Ramli said the trend is continuing this year, with senior citizens losing RM130.4mil as of May 19.

“A total of 990 cases involving senior citizens have been recorded this year.

“They represent 8.3% of the overall 11,918 cases between Jan 1 and May 19.

“Losses involving them have reached RM130.4mil or 27.7% of the total RM471.5mil in losses to online scams,” he said.

Comm Ramli said the losses suffered by senior citizens were quite huge as they had significant savings given their age.

Out of the 5,533 senior citizen victims between 2021 and 2023, 47.6% fell prey to telecommunication scams, he said.

“Phone scams and SMS scams are some examples of telecommunication scams.

“As of May 19, the trend is similar, with 39.4% of 990 senior citizens falling for similar scams,” he added.

Comm Ramli also said a lack of knowledge on internet-related matters and common scam techniques might be one of the reasons senior citizens are mostly falling prey.

“Only by using a phone, scammers could create panic and dupe them,” he said.

Comm Ramli reminded the public, especially senior citizens, not to entertain calls from unknown individuals, especially those who claimed to be from government entities.

“Agencies such as police do not conduct investigations over the phone.

“If you receive such calls, quickly hang up and do not prolong the conversation,” he said.