There is a dark side to e-commerce — the exploitation by fraudsters that has forced the authorities to repeatedly warn the public about them.
Every day seems to bring news about online scams. Crime pays? It appears so. Cyber criminals have succeeded in fleecing billions from Malaysians and other victims the world over.
Retailers, too, say they are seeing a sharp increase in a type of fraud where consumers claim they never received their online orders even though some did. Reportedly, the "item not received" fraud began during the pandemic when retailers and merchants were overwhelmed by a rise in online orders.
Some consumers, it seems, hired "professional fraudsters who market their services on social media and advertised refunds of as much as US$20,000 at chains such as Amazon.com Inc, and Walmart Inc", according to The Wall Street Journal last year. Buying habits through online transactions set records in 2020 and created opportunities for cyber criminals. It shows just how much the Internet age has transformed the lives of ordinary people and industries. A lawyer once said that there is no other crime like e-commerce fraud affecting so many people from almost all ages and backgrounds.
All these paint a grim picture of e-commerce. How do we arm ourselves from falling prey to such crimes? Being aware of the various types of scams is a start. Cyber security agency Norton, in 2020, listed some popular ones — phishing, make-money-fast and fake shopping websites.
Phishers persuade one to divulge personal information via email and social media; make-money-fast promises easy money in a few hours; and fake shopping websites use web addresses similar to the real ones. In Malaysia, there is the love scam, where the perpetrator feigns his or her feelings for the victim, pleading for money before doing the disappearing act.
Explaining a recent trend, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi revealed that most fraud cases involved online transactions, fake goods, misleading services and prices. From 2020 to May 2022, 71,833 cases were reported, and 68 per cent were online scams resulting in losses of RM5.2 billion.
The Fintech Global portal, quoted UK Finance recently, that British fraud victims lost £1.3 billion in 2021 to online fraud. In the United States, the US Securities and Exchange Commission unearthed a worldwide crypto scam, fleecing retail investors of US$300 million in two years.
Scams are an unfortunate part of e-commerce, but we can prevent ourselves from being a victim. While we welcome the assurance by the authorities that there will be close collaboration with relevant agencies to reduce this scourge, the public, too, can play a role.
Fraudsters are clever and cunning, but knowing what they are and how to spot them can help us fight them. Beware of suspicious websites, remain vigilant and keep on top of the latest trends. For, no matter how skilful scammers are, they will eventually make a mistake.
It's like the Malay proverb, "sepandai-pandai tupai melompat, akhirnya jatuh ke tanah juga" — no matter how agile the squirrel, it will one day trip and fall. So, get to know your scammers and fraudsters, share with others their ploys and tricks. Knowledge, as they say, is power.