IN AN era where information has become more accessible, scammers are concocting more cunning ruses to swindle unsuspecting victims of their savings.
According to figures from Bursa Malaysia, losses from reported scams amounted to RM5.2bil over a two-year period during the Covid-19 pandemic. And there were many more that went unreported.
Posing as government officials, employment agents or even potential lovers, these hoaxers deceive their victims in elaborate ways and can wipe out entire bank accounts in a matter of seconds.
To protect yourself from get-rich-quick schemes, “catfishers” or blackmailers – either online or on the streets – read on to learn about the 10 scams commonly used by fraudsters these days.
1. Social cybercriminals
Scammers on social media impersonate people or companies that are known to their victims, to get them to disclose their personal information.
Also known as “phishing”, these imposters may send online links and ask the unsuspecting person to click on them, to sign up for lucrative investment opportunities or win a prize from a competition they never even entered.
In most cases, these links are likely to corrupt devices by downloading ransomware which prohibits access until a fee is paid, or installing malware that gives the sender unlimited access to private information.
These cyberspace scammers can be identified by misspelt names with…
