8,868 online scams recorded till Sept 2023, losses total at RM163 million

KUALA LUMPUR - A total of 8,868 cases of online purchases or e-commerce fraud resulting in a loss of RM163 million were recorded this year up till September.

Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said that the crime was among the most frequently reported cases by the public.

He pointed that from the analysis carried out by the department, the average number of annual cases had almost reached 10,000 cases while the amount of loss recorded a significant increase every year.

He also shared that a total of 9,499 cases of e-commerce fraud with a loss of RM73 million were recorded throughout 2021 and a total of 9,258 cases with a loss of RM140 million for the same offense took place in 2022.

"The loss involving e-commerce fraud so far this year has exceeded 55 percent of the loss recorded in 2021.

"It is expected that the amount of loss involving this case will continue to increase based on the increase of the price of goods in the current trading system.

"We are also expecting a significant increase in the number of e-commerce fraud cases in the coming year due to the increase in the number of e-commerce platforms that are becoming more popular in today's transactions," he said in a statement today.

Ramli also noted that CCID's study found perpetrators abusing social media platforms and online sale apps to prey on victims.

According to him, 39 per cent of e-commerce cases were reported since 2021 that were related to transactions that were initiated through social media.

Notably, the study also found that e-commerce platform operator's had provided secure and organised transaction procedures, yet the victim's desire to obtain cheaper prices had prompted them to make direct purchases with merchants outside the e-commerce platform.

"This why they become victims of fraud," he added.