‘121 M’sians stranded overseas as victims of job scammers’

KUALA LUMPUR – Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the government through the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) are working towards rescuing 121 Malaysians believed to be still stranded overseas as victims of job scammers.

Addressing the Dewan Rakyat, the senator said of the 339 reported Malaysian victims of job scammers in Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Dubai, 218 have been rescued so far.

Responding to a question by Sim Tze Tzin (Bayan Baru-PH) on effective measures taken by the government to combat job scammers, Saifuddin emphasised the government’s priority on the victims’ safety and work to rescue them.

“The home and foreign ministries are working together with the Asean police force and international police (Interpol) to locate the victims and outline strategies to rescue them safely from these scammers.”  

“A special PDRM task force is on a mission to locate trapped Malaysians in Thailand at present,” he said in Parliament today. 

Saifuddin mentioned that most of the victims are being lured by fake advertisements on social media offering jobs such as service workers at casino centres and interpreters for high-paid salary, whilst providing accommodation and travel fare allowances. 

Highlighting that awareness campaigns on this issue have been effective, the minister said only nine cases were reported in January and only one case was filed this month. 

“It shows a downtrend on the risk of Malaysians being scapegoats for jobs scams.” 

When Sim questioned about measures taken against fraud agencies, Saifudddin responded that the police force has identified and arrested two agencies up to this point. 

He also pointed out that some of the rescued victims risked their lives by going back to those countries and being trapped in similar situations again.  

“Some even continue to do the given jobs for survival although they are aware they are being scammed.” 

Following that response, Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Bin Hassan (Kota Baru-PN) asked about measures to tighten cybersecurity, since the majority of job scams are being advertised via social media.  

Saifuddin said a new bill will be tabled in July on combating cybercrimes through a single entity comprising cybercrime experts.  

He expressed hope that the Dewan Rakyat will show its support and pass the upcoming bill. –  The Vibes, February 16, 2023