In recent years, Malaysia has seen a frequent occurrence of fraud cases. According to the police, consecutive online investment fraud cases have been cracked, involving Chinese nationals. The prosecution has charged them with conspiratorial organized crime, setting up investment scams to defraud.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) released the "2024 Malaysia Crime Statistics Report," showing that nearly all types of online crimes have increased last year, rising by 35.5% compared to 2022.
Police analysis of reported online crime types includes e-commerce crimes (about 33.2%), telecommunications fraud (about 30%), bogus investments (about 15.6%), fake loans (about 12.3%), online financial crimes (about 6.1%), and romance scams (about 2.7%).
Johor State has numerous fraud cases
Johor Bahru, adjacent to Singapore, is not only the capital of Johor in southern Malaysia but also an important commercial and tourist hub. However, Johor police frequently crack down on fraud crimes.
On September 23, police arrested 20 foreigners in a residential house using Malaysia as a base for romance scams, luring victims with high-paying online jobs to defraud money. Among these 20 suspects, 19 were Chinese nationals.
On the 9th of this month, Johor police also received a tip-off, catching a criminal group setting up an investment scam base in a residential house, seizing 8 laptops and 4 mobile phones, and arresting 8 Chinese suspects involved in fraud. The prosecution charged the suspects with conspiratorial organized crime for bogus investment scams. Henry Mok, the director of the MCA Youth Public Service and Complaints Bureau in Johor, stated that fraud groups frequently impersonate government departments or banks, or claim to be from the tax bureau or police, accusing victims of owing taxes or being involved in criminal cases, and then transferring the call to so-called "relevant department personnel." This method of fraud is highly deceptive and difficult to guard against.
He pointed out that with technological advancements, fraud methods are constantly evolving. Recently, a new type of scam has emerged in Malaysia using mobile messages falsely claiming to be from the police. These messages appear official and include a link, enticing victims to open the link, which can lead to the theft of information and bank account details from their phones, potentially resulting in the transfer of funds from their bank accounts.
Utilizing the visa-free entry between Malaysia and China
Under Malaysian law, fraudsters committing deception are subject to criminal law under Section 420 (Deception), and the court may impose a sentence under Section 120B (2) for criminal conspiracy, with a maximum sentence of 6 months imprisonment, a fine, or both.
In the first half of this year, criminal groups successfully defrauded amounts ranging from 8 million to 132 million Malaysian Ringgit through social platforms.
In December last year, Malaysia opened visa-free entry for Chinese tourists, with an average of 250,000 visits per month. Notably, criminal groups have taken advantage of the visa-free entry between Malaysia and China to commit fraud, targeting Chinese nationals as well.
