There’s been a rapid increase in complaints and inquiries on unlicensed activities and scams since the Covid-19 pandemic swept the country in 2020, according to the Securities Commission Malaysia.
The Edge quoted the Commission’s Consumer and Investor General Manager Jawahar Ali Ameer Ali who mentioned that there have been 1,799 complaints in 2020 which grew to 3,475 complaints in 2021.
As for last year, 2,461 complaints have been reported while in the first of 2023, about 1,670 complaints have been received by the commission, which is around 60% of the total for 2022.
He said that most of the complaints were about illegal schemes promoted through social media.
How scammers lure their victims
The perpetrators of these scams, he said, usually use sponsored Facebook ads, fake websites, or public Telegram groups to promote investment packages.
These dubious schemes are usually accompanied by fake testimonies and certificates.
Interested investors will then be asked to message the representatives to begin investing directly. These ‘investments’ usually promise unrealistic returns, such as investing RM300 to have returns in thousands of ringgit within a few hours. Investment opportunities like this through social media are scams. Investors should also be careful if they are asked to deposit money into personal [bank] accounts. As of now, investors have lost tens of millions through investment scams.
Securities Commission Consumer and Investor General Manager Jawahar Ali Ameer Ali
SC doing their part
To tackle the issue, Jawahar said the SC had taken various intervention actions and initiatives to warn the public.
In 1H2023 (first half of 2023), the SC took two enforcement actions, issued 170 alert lists, [with] 95 website blocks, six Instagram account blocks, 74 Telegram account blocks, as well as 58 blocks on Facebook.
Securities Commission Consumer and Investor General Manager Jawahar Ali Ameer Ali
