In the preceding year, Comm Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat reported a staggering surge in commercial crime cases within Johor, Malaysia. According to the state police chief, a concerning 4,383 investigation papers were initiated in 2023, revealing a disconcerting escalation compared to the 2,921 cases recorded in 2022. These cases translated to substantial losses totalling RM267 million, signifying a notable 50% increase in comparison to the previous year.
In his address at the monthly police assembly on January 17, Comm Kamarul Zaman underscored the alarming rise in commercial crimes and the need for heightened awareness. Notably, losses suffered witnessed a marginal 4% uptick, amounting to RM11 million more than the preceding year's losses, which stood at RM256 million.
The primary focus of these crimes, as revealed by Comm Kamarul Zaman, was scams, constituting a staggering 84% of the reported cases. Among the top four scams were online shopping scams, investment scams, job scams, and loan scams. Online shopping scams took the lead with 748 cases, followed closely by investment scams (631), job scams (530), and loan scams (528). A noteworthy revelation was that 80% of these scams occurred in the digital realm, where the perpetrators and victims had no face-to-face interactions.
Comm Kamarul Zaman expressed concern about the lack of awareness surrounding commercial crimes, emphasizing the susceptibility of individuals to online offers. To combat this rising trend, the Johor Commercial Crime Investigation Department is set to collaborate with various entities, including other police departments, government agencies, private companies, and non-governmental organizations, to enhance awareness and prevention.
At an event recognizing the commendable efforts of over 80 individuals, including police personnel, officers, members of the media, and the public, Comm Kamarul Zaman distributed certificates of appreciation, underscoring the collective effort required to address the escalating challenge of commercial crimes in Johor.
Young Sok Fun is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact Newswav.
