KUALA LUMPUR – Two local individuals have been detained by the police for being the alleged masterminds behind an e-business scheme hosted on Instagram, causing victims to suffer losses of RM153,759 cumulatively.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Datuk Mohd Kamarudin Md Din said the police uncovered the syndicate through the Instagram account @Beauty_Saranghae and are currently investigating 64 cases linked to the scam.
Kamarudin said investigations have found that the syndicate would advertise various electronic goods below market prices.
“Those interested were asked to make payments to the bank accounts given but once the payments were made, buyers did not receive the goods as purchased,” he said.
The duo aged 32 and 53, respectively, are being remanded for investigation under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property.
The Vibes found that the Instagram account has 184,000 followers, with the latest posting dated August 16.
The posting stated that the account owners have stopped taking pre-orders for the time being due to legal action they are taking against certain parties.
“If there are WhatsApp messages asking for products or to settle repayments, please message and don’t spam, all messages will be replied to by us within 24 hours.”
Meanwhile, Kamarudin said since January up till August 30, a total of 6,428 cases involving e-business scams were reported, incurring losses of over RM 41 million.
He also revealed that 5,846 cases were reported last year, involving losses of RM41.4 million. Only 3,512 cases were recorded in 2019, involving losses of over RM28 million.
Kamarudin advised the public to be more careful when making purchases online.
“Please verify phone numbers and banking details on the CCID website to detect if these retailers have been involved in previous scams,” he added. – The Vibes, September 2, 2021
