SIBU: Online fraud cases continue to soar in Sarawak, with 1,306 cases reported for the first seven months of this year, says Datuk Mohd Azman Sapri.

       "This is an increase of 145 cases or 12.49% as compared to the same period in 2022 with 1,161 cases," the Sarawak Police Commissioner said on Tuesday (Sept 5)

       Speaking at a townhall session, Mohd Azman said losses from online scams for the period were RM49.3mil this year compared to RM24.7mil for the same period in 2022, an increase of RM24.6 mil or 99.56%.

       Among the scams were 350 ecommerce related cases with a loss of RM2.8mil, 186 job scams with a loss of RM6.1mil, 175 non-existent loan cases (RM1.2mil), 145 phone scams cases (RM10.1mil), and 113 non-existent investment cases (RM15.1mil).

       According to Mohd Azman, 345 arrests involving 553 suspects were made in 2023.

       The townhall session titled "Cyber Crime - Why Are We Still Being Deceived?' was aimed at educating people on how to avoid being scammed.

       "The three main goals of this programme include cybercrime prevention, educating the public about cybercrime awareness and legal education exposure related to cybercrime," he explained.

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       Also present were Deputy Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government II, Michael Tiang and Sibu OCPD Asst Comm Zulkipli Suhaili.