PETALING JAYA: In the dark underbelly of cyberspace, liars and cheats lurk. They have been responsible for more than RM769 million in losses suffered by unwary surfers in Malaysia from 2017 to 2019, but the worst is yet to come.
The Covid-19 pandemic has made the internet fertile ground for them to spread like wildfire.
Most of us are now forced onto digital platforms to perform various tasks, such as work or to make purchases, so the risk rises significantly.
It is usually at times of crisis when opportunistic and professional scammers rear their ugly heads, according to criminologist Dr Mohammad Rahim Kamaluddin.
“Many victims would have lost their jobs and are dependent on government aid to survive. Without a steady income, they are easily hooked by offers of loans that can be approved and disbursed within 24 hours, only to lose all they have,” he told theSun.
It does not help that despite widespread reports of such scams, internet users continue to leave themselves vulnerable to these swindlers, opening their bank accounts or simply handing over money to them.
A study of 419 internet users by Mohammad Rahim, who is an associate professor at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and president of the Malaysian Criminological and Correctional Association, revealed that 35% of internet users in Malaysia have been victims of cyber scams.
Of those who responded to his survey, 58% said they knew of someone who has been a victim.
“Almost everyone is vulnerable.”
Another criminologist, Shankar Durairaja, cited statistics released by the Malaysia Computer Emergency Response Team that showed 8,366 cases reported from January to September.
This works out to about 30 cases a day, underlining the seriousness of the situation.
Shankar said the worst months were March, April and May, during the early stage of the movement control order.
He noted that official figures from the Communications and Multimedia Ministry show an equally disturbing scenario.
According to Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, 5,697 cases were reported from January to August, compared with 4,671 for the same period in 2019, representing a 22% increase.
Shankar said from March 13 to June 30, the Cyber999 Help Centre received 3,906 complaints – a 90% jump for the same period last year. This includes all types of cyber crimes.
Crime analyst Kamal Affendi Hassim estimated there were about 28,000 such criminal acts in 2019 but noted that there could have been more that went unreported.
He said there are “safe spaces” in the web for cyber criminals to retreat to, adding that another problem is the possibility that some victims do not report their losses if they lose just a small sum.
“But an accumulation of such ‘small sums’ lost to Macau and Nigerian scams amounts to RM2.7 billion to RM2.8 billion a year,” he pointed out.
He cautioned that while there are genuine websites that enable people to earn some money from the comforts of their home, there are many more fake ones that lead to a scam.
As Rahim and Kamal see it, the only way to protect yourself is to be mindful of the websites you visit. If you have been scammed, even if it is a small amount, lodge a police report.
“By doing that, you will be contributing in a small way to helping the authorities stamp out these rackets,” Kamal said.
