KOTA KINABALU: There have been 2,804 online scam cases involving RM79.2mil losses recorded in Sabah since 2019.

       State Police Commissioner Datuk Idris Abdullah said the amount from January 2019 to October this year was huge.

       Launching an online scam awareness forum on Thursday (Nov 25), he said this was due to the lifestyle change with higher usage of technology among the community.

       "The lifestyle evolution indirectly saw the formation of new crimes which are more complex and global, that require more serious attention from authorities.

       "Based on studies, police reports involving commercial crime cases in Malaysia have increased 60% over the past ten years and online scams are on an uptrend," he said.

       He said the police have conducted various enforcement programmes to curb this, online scams continue to increase.

       He said a more comprehensive initiative must be done, with participation of local communities, to reduce the number of cases.

       Idris said various mediums like print media, electronic and social media could help spread the message to curb commercial crime.