SHAH ALAM: Cyber scam victims in the Klang Valley were tricked into parting with more than half a billion ringgit to fraudsters through various schemes last year.
Kuala Lumpur police revealed yesterday that it recorded 3,011 cases in which victims lost RM573 million while Selangor police said that online scammers made off with almost RM72 million in 2,162 cases that were reported.
Police said these victims lost their money via the Macau Scam, love scam, African scam and syndicates that offered non-existent personal loans.
Some victims also suffered financial losses to extortion syndicates impersonating enforcement agency personnel and court officials.
In Kuala Lumpur, police recorded 264 cases involving corporate fraud and criminal breach of trust that resulted in losses of over RM2 billion.
On crime statistics, KL police recorded 11,172 reported cases while Selangor police recorded 19,810 cases.
The figures showed a mild decline in crime rates by 7.84% in Kuala Lumpur and 7.16% in Selangor compared with 2018 figures.
Meanwhile, police in Penang want the public to help rein in crime by sharing private closed-circuit television camera (CCTV) footage near crime and accident scenes as such recordings may have captured images of the wrongdoers.
Penang deputy police head Comm Datuk Roslee Chik said sharing CCTV footage with police, especially those from private compounds, could help to hasten their investigations.
The state has the second highest installation of CCTVs in the country after the Klang Valley, with some 600 installed in public spaces and roads. A high number of private CCTVs were also installed by residents.
Penang recorded a slight increase in its crime index of 2.8% (143 cases) last year, compared with figures from 2018.
Roslee said 40% of reports lodged with the police were resolved, but he lamented the high number of white-collar crime such as the “Macau Scam.”
Three of the five districts also recorded an increase in crime, with 187 more cases in Seberang Prai Tengah, 37 in Seberang Prai Selatan and 12 more in the Southwest district.
“For commercial crimes, the total loss suffered saw a 27.8% rise from RM142 million in 2018 to RM181 million last year,” he said.
There was also a hike in the number of false reports from 17 in 2018 to 28 in 2019.
Among the crime highlights last year were the crippling of four motorcycle theft syndicates, with more than RM1 million worth of cannibalised parts seized.
Police in Penang accomplished the biggest drug bust ever in Malaysia, with a haul of RM2.4 billion worth of cocaine from a container near the Penang Port container terminal.
The cocaine, which was mixed with 60 tonnes of charcoal, was believed to be from an international drug syndicate that used Penang as a transit point.
Three of the five districts also recorded an increase in crime, with 187 more cases in Seberang Prai Tengah, 37 in Seberang Prai Selatan and 12 more in the Southwest district.
“For commercial crimes, the total loss suffered saw a 27.8% rise from RM142 million in 2018 to RM181 million last year,” he said.
There was also a hike in the number of false reports from 17 in 2018 to 28 in 2019.
Among the crime highlights last year were the crippling of four motorcycle theft syndicates, with more than RM1 million worth of cannibalised parts seized.
Police in Penang accomplished the biggest drug bust ever in Malaysia, with a haul of RM2.4 billion worth of cocaine from a container near the Penang Port container terminal.
The cocaine, which was mixed with 60 tonnes of charcoal, was believed to be from an international drug syndicate that used Penang as a transit point.
