SHAH ALAM – While the number of conventional crimes decreases slightly, the number of commercial crime cases reported is increasing.
Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said many people fell into the trap of scams and lost their hard-earned money.
"This is because social media provides an easier platform to induce people to transfer money, as it’s all done electronically, hence it would continuously increase.
"Therefore, we have increased our awareness programmes, reaching out to the public so they are more aware of the type of scams that are happening,” he told Sinar Daily in an interview.
Hussein added the police conducted many programmes, including going to the ground to talk to the public, especially the elderly to reduce the chances of people falling victim to these scams.
Aside from going to the mosque to create awareness, police also went to schools, government agencies, and forums organised by private entities.
Meanwhile, Klang MP Ganabatirau Veraman said the number of scams he believed had gotten worse by the days was worrying, especially phone scams where receivers were told they had won a prize.
"I don’t understand why people still believe they won RM10,000 and are naive enough to give their details,” he said, adding that several individuals had met him to complain about being scammed.