GEORGE TOWN – Klang MP Charles Santiago has called on regional Asean governments to combat online scamming and the abuse of young workers by hastening the formation of a collective cybersecurity division.
This, he said, follows the rise of job scam cases as well as more stories of physical abuse of these scammers’ victims.
“The division’s personnel can be information tech specialists, police, and diplomatic officers who can band together to eradicate scamming through the online apparatus.”
Santiago, who is also the Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights movement chairman, told The Vibes that Asean members should band together to extinguish the presence of scam call centres in the region before more people become victims.
The proposed enforcement division, he said, can also help eradicate the alleged mushrooming of scam centres in Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos.
Earlier, Santiago met a local victim who was duped and later trafficked to become a scammer in one of the centres in Cambodia.
“It was a horror account of the abuse they are subjected to from mental to physical.
“The ironic proposition is that Malaysians are tricking and scamming their fellow citizens at the expense of regional syndicates who then run off with our hard-earned money,” he added.
It was recently reported that online scams are on an upward trend.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani had said the cases involved online sales scams, online trading scams, African scams, Macau Scams, business email compromise scams, fake loans, and SMS scams.
In 2019, 13,703 scam cases were reported, involving losses of RM539 million.
It increased to 17,227 cases the following year, with RM511.2 million in losses recorded.
“Last year, there were 20,701 scam cases registered with losses amounting to RM560.8 million.
“Between January and July this year alone, 12,092 cases were reported with losses of RM414.8 million,” he said.
Acryl also said 33,147 online crime suspects were detained, while 22,196 were brought to court to be charged between 2019 to July this year.
Meanwhile, Penang MCA Public Complaints Bureau deputy chairman Francis Goh detailed the elaborate nature of these online scammers.
Pooling resources from Penang businessmen with investments in the country, Goh said, the scammers are mostly China nationals aided by triads in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar.
“They are heartless. Emerging tales show that they have no qualms about murdering anyone, whether a government official or the young Malaysians they have recruited through fraud,” he said.
The victims are lured through “agents” in Malaysia with lavish job offers on social media before they are flown into Thailand, which acts as a logistical base.
The spike in recruitment, he said, was detected during the lockdowns where many young Malaysians became jobless and some were bored staying within confined surroundings.
“At times, the victims are tricked into flying to Dubai before they are rerouted back into Thailand.
“They are then forced into the scam centres which operate autonomously because they are shielded from the local authorities in those countries.
“Their passports and personal handphones are seized. They become modern-day slaves.
“Inside this dangerous environment, they are forced to work daily to either maintain servers or pose as call centre callers to scam unwitting Malaysians.
“If they refuse, as the social media videos have depicted, they are physically abused,” he said.
Goh also noted cases of Taiwanese and China nationals who fought back but ended up beaten to death.
A Malaysian tricked into becoming a scammer recently died, his body later claimed in northern Thailand by his parents.
Goh also said Malaysian businessmen in Cambodia have tried to rescue some of the victims after appeals by their families, but the syndicates insisted on ransom payouts.
“They operate at a different level of violence, which puts off even the Malaysian triads.
“They are not afraid to hurt their hostages; women, elderly, and even local police.”
While praising Wisma Putra for their help in trying to secure the release of Malaysians trapped particularly in Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam, Goh said that the total number of Malaysians is double the official figure of 148 due to various reasons.
“One is that some Malaysians do not want to be identified as they are genuine scammers who fled to such countries because they can no longer operate safely in Malaysia.
“Secondly, they bear the shame of falling victim to such elaborate schemes..
“But the graphic nature of abuse by the syndicates has a telling effect on many Malaysians. I think all of them, if given a choice, want to come home,” he said.
Goh said that MCA was working with all parties to bring home the Malaysians, but it takes time, as it involves the authorities of other countries.
Although the majority of the victims are males, Goh said some Malaysian girls are also believed to have become victims as well. – The Vibes, September 29, 2022
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