JOHOR BARU: Over RM120mil was lost by 579 scam victims in Johor so far this year, say police.

       Johor police chief Comm Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat said that a total of 631 police reports had also been received in the same period.

       "From January until March 5 this year, we have received 631 police reports on scam activities, compared to 550 police reports last year in the same period.

       “The total number of victims is 579 people with losses amounting close to RM120mil,” he said at a press conference at the Johor police headquarters here on Sunday (March 6).

       He added that the highest recorded cases were from Macau scams, with recorded losses of RM5.1mil.

       “These are the types of scams where scammers impersonate police, customs officers, LHDN (Inland Revenue Board) officers, and others to trick people into giving them money.

       “We also have cases of online purchase scams where victims fall for items that are sold cheaper than the usual market price through social media,” he said, adding that members of the public should not entertain any unknown callers.

       “There are also cases of fake jobs where victims are offered the opportunity to become sales agents for a company where they are given the promise of a high commission rate for every item they sell.

       “However, they are required to make payment first. For example, if they pay RM80, within five minutes the scammers will pay back RM100, and so on back and forth until the victims are willing to pay thousands, then the scammers will make a run for the money,” he explained.

       Comm Kamarul Zaman added that members of the public need to be extra careful when coming across such offers that are too good to be true or receiving calls that claim to be from the authorities.

       “If they are unsure, they can always come directly to any of the government offices first for confirmation and avoid following any of the scammers' instructions," he said.