I hate scammers so much that I wanted to put all of them away from society for good. Just like in that classic American movie “Lord Of The Flies” where they(in this case, scammers) are all put away on an island and pitted against one another till death. Even if they survive the deadly ordeal, they might end up losing their mind for good due to the terrifying experience. After all, serves them right for scamming others of their hard-earned money, right?
The Meriam Webster online dictionary defines scams as fraudulent or deceptive acts or operations. According to Buro24/7 Malaysia, the six most common types of scams to date are mainly Macau scams, big pay scams, social media scams, employment scams, romance scams, and modelling scams. FMT recently reported that Malaysians lost RM1.6 billion in scams over the past three years. Also, perhaps one of the most shocking and heart-breaking scam-related news that swept nationwide recently was the 16 Malaysians who were rescued and forced to work as scammers in Cambodia. Like in the hit movie “Taken” , the victims are starved, beaten up, and tortured using electric shocks.
Some people say that scams occur due to the hardships of the current pandemic. But I think that it is also synonymous with the freeloading culture – people just want the shortcut way to success. It’s akin to a fresh graduate who foolishly thought that they could easily assume the role of a CEO just because they have a university degree.
If money is the issue here, why don’t they take up any legit 3D job offered? For example, honest alternative living means washing the dishes as a start? If our forefathers can endure sitting hours on a rickety boat ride just to seek a better future, why can’t we all follow their grit and determination too? Back in the day, my dad used to do many odd jobs before climbing the ladder of success. As a motherless young boy growing up in the 1960s, he did anything to meet ends meet from selling “roti” to becoming a technician. However, sometimes my dad would go hungry with an empty stomach even though all he wanted was to eat some cheap paratha at the roadside Mamak.
A close relative of mine received a scam call the other day. But instead of the scammer scamming him of his hard-earned money, this smart-alec relative of mine tried to outplay the scammer by deliberately giving out the wrong ic number. And guess what? The trolled and pissed-off scammer immediately hung up.
As of April 1 2022, EPF members can apply for the special withdrawal of RM10,000. When the Star newspaper first highlighted this issue in its cover story, it was eye-opening for me to see the alarmingly high number of Malaysians making a long queue outside EPF offices just for withdrawal applications. But what about those who don’t even meet that standard minimum amount? What will they do to survive? Will it lead to further scams? I am sure the answer is pretty obvious.
Lim Su Yee is a content writer under Headliner by Newswav, a programme where content creators get to tell their unique stories through articles and at the same time monetize their content within the Newswav app.
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