Scammers cash in on opportunity
- Details
Wednesday, 21 Apr 2021
KUALA LUMPUR: Even as the country has been hit hard by Covid-19, scammers have taken advantage of the pandemic to prey on the weak and gullible.
Macau scam cases are on the rise with losses amounting to hundreds of millions of ringgit yearly.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Comm Datuk Zainuddin Yaacob (pic) said 5,725 cases were reported in 2019 involving RM254.5mil in losses.
โThe cases continued to spike to 6,003 cases last year. The total losses increased to RM287.3mil.
โSo far, we received 1,392 cases this year with losses amounting to RM38.1mil, โ he said when contacted yesterday.
The victims were mostly women aged 51 and above, Comm Zainuddin said.
โThe syndicates would prey on such victims, using fear as the ultimate tool in duping them to surrender their savings.
โThe scammers would pose as officers from the authorities, including the police or Bank Negara.
โSome would even pretend to be from a bank or other companies such as Pos Malaysia. We also received cases where the scammers posed as the victimโs family members or friends, โ he added.
The modus operandi has not changed much as the scammers will say that you are under investigation for some case.
โThey will intimidate you and threaten to put you behind bars.
โThe police will never handle cases over the phone, let alone threaten to arrest someone, โ he said.
Comm Zainuddin said a scammer would also advise the victim to transfer their money to avoid it from being frozen during a phone call.
EPF: Members will continue to earn dividends up to age 100
- Details
Tuesday, 20 Apr 2021 1:43 PM MYT
KUALA LUMPUR: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has clarified that members will continue to earn dividends for the remaining portion of their EPF savings up to age 100.
In a statement, EPF has clarified that an old statement regarding the maximum age of 75 years for EPF dividend payment, which is currently circulating via WhatsApp and other online platforms, is outdated and no longer applicable.
โAs announced in an EPF media statement dated Nov 3, 2016, effective Jan 1, 2017, members will continue to earn dividends for the remaining portion of their EPF savings up to age 100,โ it said.
โThis measure was introduced following the amendment to the EPF Act 1991 to ensure that members who choose to maintain a portion of their savings with the EPF after retirement will continue to benefit from the compounding effect of annual dividends until their EPF savings have been fully withdrawn,โ EPF said.
The EPF will inform members prior to transferring any unclaimed savings when the member reaches age 100.
Any claim after the transfer can be made through the Registrar of Unclaimed Monies.
The EPF urged members to be cautious of misleading or unsubstantiated information received through social media platforms and refrain from circulating them.
Members are advised to always verify the source and date of the information obtained.
Source:
Scammers hunting for victims on social media
- Details
Wednesday, 21 Apr 2021
GEORGE TOWN: After countless successful raids against Macau scam syndicates, fraudsters have started adopting new modus operandi to get people to part with their money.
Penang Commercial Crime chief Asst Comm Mohd Rosni Mohd Lazim said scammers would now swindle their victims via social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp or WeChat, instead of the traditional face-to-face approach.
He said the situation was further aggravated as more people were now using online transactions.
โIn the past, we had the pyramid investment schemes where victims attend briefings before parting with their money, or the โscratch and winโ contests where the victims were approached on the streets.
โToday, the victims would fall prey to financial scam advertisements on social media, โ he said.
ACP Rosni said police have recorded 342 cases in Penang in 2019 and 2020, with losses amounting to RM17mil.
โTill March this year, Penang has recorded another 37 cases related to the Macau scam, with losses amounting to RM699,937.
โThe amount of losses from the Macau scam is among the highest compared to other commercial crimes involving individuals, โ he said.
Kajian menyeluruh terhadap pembekal utama tentukan punca kenaikan harga
- Details
April 20, 2021 @ 10:58am
Kuala Lumpur: Permintaan sesuatu barangan yang meningkat secara luar biasa dan dalam tempoh yang singkat menyebabkan berlaku kenaikan harga dalam pasaran.
Itu situasi yang berlaku setiap kali musim perayaan di negara ini sehingga mengundang kegelisahan pengguna.
Profesor di Sekolah Perniagaan dan Ekonomi, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Prof Dr Azmawani Abd Rahman berkata, kajian menyeluruh wajar dilakukan ke atas pembekal utama bagi mengenal pasti punca kenaikan harga.
Katanya, senario harga meningkat pada musim perayaan didorong faktor rantaian permintaan dan penawaran yang berubah drastik dalam tempoh singkat.
"Ketika musim perayaan, operasi perniagaan berada pada tahap berbeza berbanding sebelumnya. Permintaan lebih, logistik meningkat dan sudah pasti ia mempengaruhi harga.
"Namun ada juga isu peniaga yang sengaja menaikkan harga barang, yang akhirnya menekan pengguna," katanya kepada Harian Metro.
Menurutnya, rantaian bekalan perlu dirancang dengan lebih teliti mengambil kira jangkaan peningkatan dalam permintaan.
Read more: Kajian menyeluruh terhadap pembekal utama tentukan punca kenaikan harga
Chicken price fixed at RM7.90 for Raya season
- Details
April 19, 2021 9:20 PM
PUTRAJAYA: The retail price of standard chicken has been fixed at RM7.90 for the Aidilfitri festive season, from Wednesday until May 20, domestic trade and consumer affairs minister Alexander Nanta Linggi said today.
The price was set under the festive season maximum price control scheme after discussions with major chicken farm owners and the agriculture ministry, he said.
However, price control only involved live chicken, standard chicken and super chicken during the Aidilfitri festive period. โThe prices of chicken parts which have been cut, such as the breast, leg and thigh are not controlled,โโ he added
Alexander said chicken prices had risen recently because of various factors, the most significant being the higher cost of imported maize and soya used as chicken feed.
The festive season price control scheme involves 12 items in four categories: chicken, chicken egg, meat and marine produce.
Alexander said price control was implemented at every level in the chicken distribution chain from farms to retail shops and would not burden chicken traders because everyone in the chicken distribution chain have obtained their respective profits.
He warned traders against raising the price of chicken or other items above the maximum price, and instead encouraged them to sell at a price lower than the fixed price.
The four categories of price controls are:
'Conservation should be a school subject'
- Details
April 19, 2021 @ 9:15am
THE government should introduce environmental conservation as a subject in schools, with a focus on education and awareness of the economic, social and environmental impact of food wastage.
Environmentalist Dr Sharifah Mazlina Syed Abdul Kadir said this was a viable long-term solution to problems associated with plastic and food waste.
Failure to do this, she said, would result in food waste remaining a perennial issue, especially during festive periods such as Ramadan and Hari Raya.
Sharifah Mazlina, who is Permata Greenland Organisation chairman, said it was crucial that good habits to stop food waste were inculcated among Malaysians at a young age.
She said this would help protect the environment and slow global warming.
"The school syllabus has to include a subject on environmental conservation, covering consequences and preventive actions to reduce food waste in schools.
"The authorities can emulate countries such as Canada and Japan, where such a move has helped create a society that values food and cares for the environment."
Sharifah Mazlina, who is also chairman of the All Women's Empowerment to Accelerate, was responding to concerns raised by Environment and Water Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man over increasing food waste recorded during the fasting month.
Beware of motor insurance vultures
- Details
April 18, 2021
Remember the vultures who used to spill oil on the road to cause car crashes? They might be back, so watch out.
What has happened over the past few years is a baffling mystery: there are victims but no logical motive.
Weโre talking about annual billion-ringgit fraud claims in the motor insurance business and a Bank Negara Malaysia-initiated programme to minimise losses to motor insurance companies.
It seems like these efforts between BNM and motor insurance companies grouped under the General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM) to establish an ethical standard to the crash repair business have come to zero at the hands of the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC).
MyCC last year won a court judgment that penalised PIAM and 22 insurance companies for a total of RM174 million for offences against the Competition Act.
On that note, MyCC is also in the process of amending the law so that it can rule on mergers and acquisitions as it notably couldnโt when Grab and Uber merged in Malaysia a few years ago.
Let me tell you the story and see if you can solve the who-done-it question:
Like most progressive nations, Malaya went through a motorisation phase after the First World War when tin miners and rubber plantation owners were so rich that they bought British, French and American cars and rubber tappers without electricity bought fridges to store their food.
'Price of chicken in Klang Valley has gone up 6 times in April'
- Details
April 17, 2021
KUALA LUMPUR: The price of fresh chicken in the Klang Valley has increased about six times, within this month alone, traders claimed.
Poultry sellers claimed that cumulatively, there was a total of RM1.50 increase for the price of chicken per kilogramme at wet markets.
The standard price for chicken per kilogramme is now between RM8 and RM9 at wet markets and farmer's markets in the Klang Valley.
Poultry seller Noordilla Aida Othman said there were at least two occasions when the prices went down, but they lasted only a day.
She is now selling chicken at RM8.80 per kilogramme at the Selayang wet market.
"On April 1, the price per kilogramme for standard chicken was RM7. The price increased even before the fasting month.
"The highest price was at RM8.40 per kilogramme for the standard chicken.
"Customers are always aware of the changes. They now buy less compared to the week before Ramadan. Normally people purchase around three to four whole chickens when the price was around RM6 per kilogramme for the standard chicken," she told the New Straits Times.
Read more: 'Price of chicken in Klang Valley has gone up 6 times in April'
71-year-old woman loses RM18k in love scam
- Details
MELAKA: A 71-year-old woman fell victim to an online love scam before losing RM18,000 to a syndicate operating via social media.
State Commercial Crime Investigation Department chief, Superintendent E. Sundra Rajan said the senior citizen befriended a man via Facebook on March 27 and then continued their relationship through WhatsApp.
"During their initial introduction online, the suspect told the victim he would be traveling to Japan to work on a railway construction project via a cargo ship.
"He then made up another story saying he was detained at the Melaka Port and needed money to secure his release," he said.
The woman then told her nephew to help her with the transactions.
"The victim's nephew made seven payments amounting to RM18,000 to three different bank accounts given by the suspect.
"After the payment was made, the suspect kept asking for more money from the victim, but this time it was allegedly for the Customs officers who stopped him.
"The suspect deceived her again saying he had been detained by Customs officers because he was carrying a large sum of cash with him, which wasn't true," he said.
Sundra said the woman had sought her nephew's help again, but this time the nephew did not help her.
Loan sharks trap unsuspecting victims
- Details
19 APR 2021
KUALA LUMPUR: Police have uncovered a new tactic by loan shark syndicates in entrapping victims with loans they never took.
Federal police commercial crimes investigations director Commissioner Datuk Zainuddin Yaacob said yesterday that the scam would begin with a sum of cash being deposited into the bank accounts of an unsuspecting individual.
He said the syndicate members would then call up the bank account holder and inform him or her that the deposit was mistakenly made before requesting the cash be returned.
โThe victims usually obliged the request and would return the cash. However, about a month later, unlicensed moneylenders would began calling up the victims and demand repayment for a purported loan they took, often the exact sum that had been deposited into their bank account and returned to the syndicate earlier.โ he said.
Zainuddin said although police have not received reports of such cases, he did not discount that it existed or has occurred.
He advised the public to be cautious at all times if they are faced with such scams.
Zainuddin said if the public found cash deposited into their bank accounts without their knowledge or consent, they should lodge a police report and raise the matter with the bank concerned to seek advice on how to address the issue.
Source:
Page 65 of 110
