Penangites lose RM169mil to scammers in first 9 months of this year

 

Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow says the rise in online scams across the country has cost Malaysians RM1.78 billion so far this year.

GEORGE TOWN: 

Penangites have lost RM169 million to online scammers in the first nine months of this year, says chief minister Chow Kon Yeow.

Chow said this is part of a worrying rise in online scams across the country, which have cost Malaysians RM1.78 billion so far this year.

It was previously reported that RM1.34 billion was lost to online scams in Malaysia in 2023, and RM804 million in 2022.

“Online scam crimes have seen a serious jump and shocking losses,” he said in a state assembly reply to Lee Boon Heng (PH-Kebun Bunga). Lee had asked for the latest figures on online scam cases in the state.

Chow, who is also the state National Security Council chairman, said the police recorded 823 cases of online scams involving Penangites between January and September, compared with 1,447 cases in 2023.

He said the island’s northeast district, or the greater George Town area, was a hotspot for scam-related crimes in the country last year. The district is currently ranked fourth in 2024.

Chow said the latest data from the council showed that online scams and other commercial crimes in the country now cause losses of about RM6 million every day, a 24% increase compared with the same period in 2023. - FMT