PETALING JAYA: In the bustling digital marketplace where a deal is just a click away, a new breed of predator is on the prowl.
From fake vouchers and phantom fashion to hijacked zam-zam water, e-commerce scams are surging.
But victims are fighting back through social media support groups that have become the unofficial watchdogs of the online bazaar.
One Facebook page with 63,900 members showed that there are victims being scammed daily on e-commerce platforms.
One victim, known only as EfficientDragon612, recounted to the group how a promise of a RM1,500 voucher turned into a RM588.78 debt.
A caller posing as an e-platform representative tricked her into creating a “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) account, only to vanish after a fraudulent QR code sealed the deal.
'CLICK TO ENLARGE'Despite reports to the police, e-commerce platform, and Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry, she was left holding the bill for a product that never existed.
Another victim, homemaker Junaida Aziz, saw an advertisement via Instagram selling traditional attire in August.
She proceeded to ask for additional information and was told if she were to buy two, the suits would be cheaper.
“So I proceeded to purchase two suits, but after a week something didn’t feel right. I contacted the seller via direct message on the social media platform to cancel my order and requested a refund.
“They were not happy and told me that it will take time for the refund since the order was already made. Then I decided to proceed with the order since it will take time for the refund but the suits never came.
“I had repeatedly asked for the suits to be delivered or a refund but they kept brushing it off. I lodged a complaint with the social media platform and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), but they told me to lodge a police report,” she said.
Currently, the culprit is indicated as ‘Account closed’, with a disclaimer saying “refunds being processed for all previous customers”.
Junaida has yet to receive a refund and would probably never get one.
On another Facebook page called Senarai Scammer Malaysia, one customer said he had ordered zam-zam water but after a week, he was blocked, although he had paid on the e-commerce platform.
Many of the posts also revealed photos of the scammers’ profiles and contacts.
“Some of them pretend to be victims of scammers but they are actually scammers on the prowl looking for victims.
“Do not fall for their texts claiming that they are contacting you to help you out,” said one.
One young mother complained on a pre-loved products group of how she was scammed when she tried to buy a breast pump.
“I want to share my sad news today. I got scammed in this group. The scammer offered a Momwilike for RM200 and even sent a video,” said the mother who used the nickname Emphatic Zebra.
“It’s terrible. I worked so hard to save money to buy a breast pump so I could provide milk for my baby. And she just scammed me like that.
“She didn’t answer my calls, kept saying she would post it, but nothing came,” she said.
