RM26 million in false claims lost to scammers, Socso says

KUALA LUMPUR: Socso says it has identified several syndicates involving middlemen that filed false permanent disability claims worth RM26 million.

Socso CEO Azman Aziz Mohammed said this could rise to RM68 million if the organisation continued to pay the sum claimed by these syndicates.

He said the fraudulent claims were identified between 2017 and 2019. A majority of them were reported to the police while the remaining are being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

He reminded the public that Socso’s services were free of charge and there was no need for a middleman.

“Those who have been duped or used by these middlemen are urged to come forward to Socso,” he said at a press conference on MACC’s arrest of the scam’s mastermind.

Azman said the syndicates charged customers between RM15,000 and RM25,000, depending on the amount claimed by the contributor.

He said the latest case involved a family of three between 35 and 67 years of age whose con revolved around switching patients at the last minute.

This scam would see another individual being treated instead of the actual claimant.

“They managed to rake in RM1 million in false claims.”

The trio were nabbed on July 6. - FMT