KUALA LUMPUR: Two individuals were arrested on Aug 8 over suspicion of being the masterminds of an e-commerce fraud on Instagram, which caused losses of over RM153,759.

       Without disclosing where the suspects were arrested, Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Datuk Mohd Kamarudin Md Din said the police detected the syndicate, via an Instagram account Beauty_Saranghae.

       It was currently investigating 64 cases linked to the alleged fraud.

       He said based on investigations, the syndicate would advertise various electronic items at below-market prices.

       “Interested buyers were instructed to make payments to the bank accounts given.

       “However, after payment was made, the buyer would not receive the promised goods,” he said in a statement yesterday.

       Mohd Kamarudin said the two local suspects, aged 32 and 53, were being remanded to assist in investigations under Section 420 of the Penal Code for fraud.

       He also shared that there was a total of 15,786 cases of fraudulent online or e-commerce sales involving losses totalling RM110mil from the beginning of 2019 until Aug 30.

       He said of the total, 3,512 cases were recorded in 2019, involving a loss of RM28mil while another 5,846 cases were recorded last year, causing a loss of RM41mil last year.

       As at Aug 30, a total of 6,428 cases have been recorded involving losses worth RM41mill this year.

       Mohd Kamarudin urged the public to be more careful when making purchases online.

       “The public are also encouraged to verify bank accounts and phone numbers through http://ccid.rmp.gov.my/semakmule/ to identify if these numbers have been used in previous fraud cases,” he added. — Bernama