Terengganu: Terengganu police recorded 940 cases of online fraud involving losses amounting to RM17.9 million from January to June this year.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, State police chief Datuk Mohd Khairi Khairuddin stated that the highest losses were from phone scams, which accounted for RM7.68 million. This was followed by non-existent investment schemes at RM5.47 million, online purchase frauds totaling RM1.95 million, and parcel scams resulting in RM1.57 million in losses.

Datuk Mohd Khairi further detailed that additional cases included cybercrime and money siphoning from accounts amounting to RM501,583.34, loan scams with losses of RM470,907.91, love scams costing RM260,200, and Ah Long (illegal moneylender) frauds resulting in a loss of RM2,960. These details were disclosed after a case item handover ceremony by the Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department at the Terengganu Police Contingent Headquarters (IPK).

One of the most recent and significant cases involved a former employee of an oil exploration company who was defrauded of RM892,000 by a phone scam syndicate. On December 31 last year, the 56-year-old victim was contacted by individuals posing as a Shopee representative and a police officer from the Penang IPK. They falsely accused him of being involved in money laundering and drug trafficking.

In a state of panic, the victim made 10 transactions to seven different accounts between January 7 and February 10, using his retirement savings and funds from the Employees Provident Fund to ‘clear’ his name. The victim reported the incident yesterday, according to Mohd Khairi.

Mohd Khairi urged the public to remain alert to the tactics employed by fraud syndicates, which target individuals regardless of their age or social status.