JOHOR BARU: An alarming surge of 303 cases or 131 per cent hike in fraudulent cases were reported in January this year compared to the same period last year.
Johor police chief Commissioner M. Kumar said there were 534 fraud cases reported state-wide in January, with losses amounting to over RM26.4 million.
There were 231 fraud cases with losses worth more than RM8.4 mil reported in January last year.
"The escalation in the number of cases with losses of almost RM18mil or an increase of 213 per cent.
"Despite numerous platforms available online to check the authenticity of the links and suspected mule bank accounts, the number of victims is still increasing," Kumar said.
He said four types of scams saw an increase in the first of the month of the year, namely, online purchases, non-existence investments and loans and job scams.
Comparing the month of January this year and in 2023, there was a 159 per cent increase in online purchases scams with 127 cases with more than RM1.1 million in losses and 49 cases with almost RM500,000 in losses in the previous year.
While investment frauds recorded a surge from 37 cases in 2023 to 107 cases in 2024, marking a 189 per cent increase. Losses escalated from RM1.7mil to RM11.4mil.
Non-existent loans recorded an increase from 28 cases in 2023 to 77 cases reported in 2024, indicating a 175 per cent hike, with losses rose from RM255,043 to over RM1.28 mil.
Job offers scams also recorded a rise, from 36 cases last year to 77 cases during the same period this year, marking a 114 per cent increase. Losses surged from RM898,038.16 to over RM2mil.