KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians have lost a total of RM58 million to online shopping scams from January to October this year.
Police fear that this number could, by the end of the year, double the RM41 million in losses suffered in 2020.
The country lost an estimated RM28 million in 2019 to such scams.
Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said the rise of the online shopping market has been matched by scams involving online purchases.
"This is a worrying trend, especially as this does not even include other online-related scams such as parcel and love scams," he said.
Acryl Sani said there were 8,162 online shopping fraud cases in the first 10 months of this year compared to 5,846 last year and 3,512 in 2019.
"These may not even reflect the actual figures as some consumers may not even have lodged reports due to small losses," he said, urging those affected to lodge police reports regardless of the sum lost.
He said reports on online shopping scams are vital for the Commercial Crime Investigation Department's (CCID) databanks, especially on the account numbers and bank details used to perform the transactions.
"This is useful for the 'Semak Mule' mobile app where one can identify whether an account number has been flagged or is genuine. It is also an early warning system for consumers where they can cross-check the account via the app before making a transfer," he said.
Acryl Sani was speaking to reporters after launching the month-long Commercial Crime Prevention (Online Crime) Campaign against internet crimes at the Berjaya Times Square today.
Also present were Deputy IGP Datuk Seri Mazlan Lazim and CCID director Datuk Seri Kamaruddin Din.