SEREMBAN: The number of scams reported in Negri Sembilan in the first two months of this year has seen a marked increase, with 526 cases reported involving losses totaling some RM21.2mil.
State police chief Dep Comm Datuk Ahmad Dzaffir Mohd Yussof noted that 331 cases involving losses amounting to RM15.5mil were reported in the same period last year.
"We have opened 195 more investigation papers this time around," he said in a statement.
DCP Ahmad Dzaffir detailed that there were 77 investment scams, including those in shares, forex, cryptocurrency, and gold, involving some RM9.8mil reported during the period.
Nine cases related to love scams involved losses above RM1mil, and 56 fake job offers on social media and platforms like Facebook, Telegram, Lazada, and Shopee accounted for almost RM780,000 in losses.
Other scams included 92 online shopping scams involving nearly RM745,000, 36 phone scams by individuals claiming to be from government agencies and banks involving more than RM440,000, and 67 non-existent loan scams involving some RM345,000.
"We are also probing two online cheating cases involving losses amounting to some RM5.3mil and another six cases on non-existent investment schemes amounting to RM5.6mil," he said.
DCP Ahmad Dzaffir urged the public to remain vigilant following the increase in scams.
"Please be extra careful and carry out proper verification if you wish to invest in any scheme, especially those which promise unusually high returns," he said.
The public can verify schemes with the police's Semakmule portal, Bank Negara, or the Securities Commission.
The National Scam Response Centre's 997 line is also available for reporting scams.
"Also, never give away your banking or PIN details or transaction authorisation code (TAC) to anyone to prevent your banking account from being hacked," he added.
