Participants taught to be wary of fraudulent sweet-talkers

Some civil servants approaching retirement age have been advised about possible scams through talks on the issue.

Teacher K. Rani, who will be retiring in August, went for a cybercrime talk by the police organised by the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur Education Department last year.

She said participants learned about online financial fraud involving phishing and scams such as love, ecommerce, loan and investment.

“The talk was three hours long.

“We discovered the different types of cyber scams and a lot of examples of cybercrime were given.

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“I learned that these scammers may even sound like Malaysians but they could be foreigners,” she said.

Rani added that since she attended the talk, she had stopped answering calls from unknown numbers.

“I have also noticed an increase in the number of unknown callers ringing me now that I am nearing my retirement age.

“I am grateful that I have attended the talk as I understand cybercrime better now.

“Most seniors are not too savvy and I welcome more of such sessions for those heading into the golden years.

“It is heartbreaking to know some lose all their life savings to these scams,” she said.

Petaling Jaya City Council engineering director Ismail Shafie said he attended a retirement briefing and recalled some of the advice shared.

“It was not solely a talk on scams but attendees were told to be careful as there are those who will prey on our retirement funds.

“We were told not to be swayed by sweet talk online as there are numerous love scams.

“We were also advised not to be duped into online investment scams or unknown investment training,” he said.

Seniors who are animal lovers also fall for scams that revolve around raising funds to feed strays.

Social activist and philanthropist Kuan Chee Heng said he received about 12 such complaints this year from those who gave money to so-called animal feeders.

“The victims tend to be animal lovers and there are culprits who prey on their kindness.

“They are Good Samaritans with noble intentions to feed the strays.

“The scammers will post on social media platforms to raise funds to feed stray animals and victims will bank in thousands of ringgit,” he said.

However, he added, these scammers would conduct the feeding activity but not use up the entire amount donated.

“For instance, donors pay for RM1,000 worth of food but what is delivered to the animals will only be about RM200 worth.

“There is nothing much that can be done, as it is difficult to track if the donated money is properly spent.

“These scammers are smart and often play on the emotions of the vulnerable.

“Some victims want to sue the scammer but the high legal fees usually deter them from going after the culprits,” said Kuan. — By SHEILA SRI PRIYA