KUALA LUMPUR: The top three social networking sites for investment scam syndicates are Telegram, Facebook and WhatsApp, according to police.Telegram tops the list with 1,455 cases recorded between Jan 1 and Sept 22.
However, in terms of losses suffered from investment scams, WhatsApp recorded the highest with RM175.5mil, followed by Facebook (RM159.5mil) and Telegram (RM32mil).
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf (pic) said 4,205 investment scams have been recorded so far this year, resulting in RM526,970mil in losses.
“Telegram is among the 17 main platforms used by investment scam syndicates.
“The main preference is Telegram, with 1,455 cases or 34.6% of the total investment scam cases occurred on the platform followed by Facebook with 1,035 cases and WhatsApp with 958 cases,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Among the other platforms used by syndicates are Instagram with 105 cases, websites (93), dating sites (26), Line (12), WeChat (11) and phone calls (31).
Comm Ramli advised the public to be more careful and wary when using such applications given the abundance of content where the validity could not be verified.
“For investments, it is better to refer to the relevant authorities such as Bank Negara Malaysia and the Securities Commission,” he said.
Investment scam syndicates are most likely to use bank accounts registered under companies or businesses, Comm Ramli said.
“They opt for this as such accounts can facilitate frequent fund transactions involving bigger amounts of money without being red-flagged by financial institutions compared to those with individual accounts.
“Between Jan 1 and Sept 22, a total of 1,369 bank accounts belonging to 487 mule companies have been used by investment scam syndicates,” he said.
Investigations showed those appointed as directors of mule companies are usually those looking for jobs and experiencing financial difficulties.
“Such individuals usually search for jobs on social media before they are contacted by agents assigned to look for mule account holders.
“These people will then be instructed to open several accounts under a newly formed company and hand over the accounts to the agent.
“They are also promised monthly commission or other forms of incentive payments,” he said.
Comm Ramli advised those looking for jobs not to be involved in such illegal activities.
“Unknown individuals suddenly offering jobs as a company director is just too good to be true.
“Always be careful and sceptical towards such job offers as it may lead to becoming a mule account holder, which is a serious crime.“Stay vigilant and take reasonable consideration before accepting any job offer,” he said.
Meanwhile, commercial crime cases have reached RM1.78bil so far this year, Comm Ramli said.
“Between Jan 1 and Sept 22, a total of 21,441 cases were recorded with RM1.78bil in losses.
“The number of cases showed an 11% drop compared to the same period last year, where 23,958 cases were recorded.
“However, the amount of losses has spiked about 24% compared to RM1.4bil last year,” he said.
Comm Ramli said 10,198 investigation papers (IP) were prosecuted, which is 48% of the total IPs this year
“It is more than last year where only 43% or 10,224 IPs were prosecuted,” he added.
He said police will double efforts to tackle commercial crimes.“We urge the public to always be alert and take part in spreading commercial crime prevention messages,” he added.
