Malaysian woman scammed S$378K by ‘anti-scam’ firm
Malaysian authorities recently uncovered two alarming cases where individuals were deceived by self-proclaimed “anti-scam” law firms that promised to recover money lost to fraudsters.
During a press conference on Monday (15 Dec), Datuk Seri Michael Chong, head of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) Public Services and Complaints Department, remarked:
This is basically scammers scamming scam victims.
Source: The Star
Mr Chong’s office has received multiple complaints about online advertisements claiming to be from law firms, with promises of success rates of 90% or higher in resolving scam cases.
He expressed scepticism about these claims, saying: “Based on my experience handling scam cases, our success rate is 0%. So how can anyone claim they have a 90% or 95% success rate?”
Documented cases of fraudulent firms
To date, Mr Chong’s office has documented two cases involving these fraudulent firms.
One victim, a woman, sought help to recover RM1,500 (S$470) lost to a scam, only to be swindled out of RM1.2 million (S$380,000), more than a thousand times the amount she initially lost.
In another case, a man who had already lost RM390,000 (S$123,000) to a scam was lured by a similar firm and ended up losing an additional RM33,000 (S$10,400) in his attempt to recover his funds.
Targeted psychological tactics to reel in victims
Senior lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who also spoke at the press conference, explained that these deceptive advertisements appear to target the Chinese community, who may be more likely to inquire about a firm’s success rate.
He noted that such claims serve as psychological hooks, preying on vulnerable victims.
Authorities have raised concerns about the legitimacy of these firms, pointing out that their ads likely violate Malaysia’s strict legal advertising regulations.
Despite these concerns, The Star reported on Tuesday (16 Dec) that some of these fraudulent ads remain visible on Facebook.
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