KUALA LUMPUR: They were neither borrowers nor had they ever dealt with loan sharks. Yet because they live next door to a borrower, their home was splashed with paint and they were threatened with arson.
It is the latest intimidation tactic employed by online loan scam syndicates, which are now targeting the borrower’s neighbours as a form of pressure.
MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong (pic) said the syndicates were deliberately victimising innocent neighbours, believing the resulting pressure from the surrounding community would force borrowers or their families into submission.
“They no longer target only the borrower or family members.
“They now target neighbours by splashing paint on their houses so they will pressure the borrower to pay.
“They tell the neighbour, ‘We attacked your house because your neighbour owes us money. Now make them pay.’
“It makes no sense, but that is the intimidation tactic they use,” Chong told a press conference at Wisma MCA yesterday.
He alleged that these syndicates are not actual loan sharks but scammers posing as moneylenders, who lure victims with online loans before extorting them by demanding many times the original amount borrowed.
In the latest case, a 51-year-old complainant, who wished to be known only as Phua, said her younger brother had borrowed S$1,000 (RM3,170) from a syndicate claiming to be Singapore-based loan sharks.
The syndicate later demanded 10 times the amount and threatened to increase it if payment was not made.
The complainant said her family had been living in fear after the syndicate admitted it had deliberately targeted a neighbour’s house to pressure them into paying.
Chong said police had arrested the man believed to have splashed paint on the property but described him as merely a runner hired to carry out the attack.
He urged the public to avoid applying for loans through online advertisements, saying many of those offering such services were scammers masquerading as moneylenders.
Chong said he has handled more than 200 similar cases involving claims exceeding RM18mil, most of which had been reported to the police.
He advised anyone facing similar threats to lodge a police report immediately instead of attempting to negotiate with the syndicates.
