Top spammers and scammers in Malaysia by anti-spam mobile app Truecaller

Truecaller: The world's best Caller ID & Spam Blocking app

If you’ve been getting a flood of automated phone calls lately about outstanding traffic summonses or a parcel delivery you know nothing about, here’s the likely reason.

Statistics from an anti-spam mobile application show that over the past 12 months, Macau, parcel and other scam syndicates have been making more calls to trick Malaysians into handing over money.

Truecaller – which claims to have 150 million daily active users worldwide – said there has been a 24% jump in the average number of spam calls received by its one million users in Malaysia this year compared to 2018.

The mobile app, which has offices in Sweden, the United States and India, said it has helped users in Malaysia identify and block 90 million spam calls so far this year, typically from telemarketers offering telecommunications, insurance and credit card products and services.

Scam calls are a form of fraudulent activity with the goal of stealing the victim’s money.

Last year, scam calls – including those by Macau Scam syndicates – made up a mere 1% of spam calls received by the app’s Malaysian users.

This year, the figure has ballooned to a whopping 63%, according to the Truecaller Insights 2019 report.

The Macau, parcel and “Astro” scams are among the top scams in the country over the past year, the report noted. The modus operandi of a Macau Scam is by impersonating someone with authority, such as a policeman or a bank officer, and convince the victims over the phone that they need to pay money to avoid trouble.

For parcel scams (which are also sometimes referred to in Malaysia as love scams), the scammer would strike up a relationship with the victims online, and then convince them to send money so that a parcel said to contain a valuable gift for the victim can be “released by authorities”.

In the Astro scam, someone impersonating a representative from the satellite TV provider would call a potential victim to deliver a warning.

“Input we’ve gotten is that they would say you have an unpaid bill and that needs to be paid right away, otherwise you’ll be reported for it, ” a Truecaller representative said.

The report’s findings are reflected in official figures on losses suffered by the victims.

Police statistics show that of the five currently active syndicated commercial crime cases this year, investment scams took the number one spot, recording the biggest losses at RM200.78mil, with Macau Scam in second and parcel scams third.

On Nov 12, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Mohd Azis Jamman said 1,911 Malaysians lost RM94.04mil to Macau Scam this year, while 1,303 lost RM67.74mil to parcel scams.

According to the Truecaller report, Malaysia is the mobile app’s 19th most spammed country. In first place is Brazil, where Truecaller users receive an average of 45.6 unsolicited calls a month, followed by Peru (30.9), Indonesia (27.9), Mexico (25.7) and India (25.6).

While Malaysia may not be the most spammed country it does hold another unsavoury record.

“Analysing this year’s data, we can see that Malaysia is the market that receives the biggest percentage of scam calls in the world, ” the report said.

Malaysia is trailed by Australia (60%), Lebanon (49%), Canada (48%), and South Africa (39%). The police have a Facebook account, Cyber Crime Alert Royal Malaysia Police (https://www.facebook.com/CyberCrimeAlertRMP/) to warn the public about scams.

A web portal set up by the police, http://ccid.rmp.gov.my/semakmule, allows people to verify telephone numbers and bank accounts that could be used for scamming.

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Spam calls up by nearly a quarter in Malaysia: anti-spam mobile app Truecaller

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has seen a 24% rise in the number of unsolicited (spam) calls this year which includes those from Macau Scam syndicates, according to anti-spam mobile application Truecaller.

Truecaller - which claims to have 150 million users worldwide – said its one million daily active users in Malaysia received more than 90 million spam calls so far this year that the app managed to block.

"Over the past 12 months Malaysia has seen a 24% increase of spam calls, going from 6.7 spam calls per month to 8.3," the Truecaller Insights 2019 report said.

The report said Malaysia ranked 19th among Truecaller market countries in terms of the number of spam calls. Brazil tops the list, with Truecaller users in the country getting an average of 45.6 spam calls this year.

In second place is Peru (30.9), followed by Indonesia (27.9), Mexico (25.7) and India (25.6).

Spam calls are divided into several categories which include scam calls such as those by the Macau, parcel and "Astro scam" syndicates.

Other types of spam calls include those by telemarketers offering telecommunications, insurance and credit card products and services.

The MO for a Macau scam is that the scammer would impersonate someone with authority such as a policeman or a bank officer over the phone and convince the victim that they need to pay money to avoid trouble.

For parcel scams (which are also sometimes referred to in Malaysia as love scams), the scammer would strike up a friendship or relationship with the victim online and then convinces them to send money or entice the victim with a parcel delivery.

In the "Astro scam", someone impersonating a representative from the satellite tv provider would call to warn the potential victim of a supposedly unpaid bill which needs to be settled immediately to prevent a report from being lodged.

The Truecaller report noted that Malaysia is the top country where the biggest percentage of unsolicited phone calls comprises of scam calls.

"Analysing this year’s data, we can see that Malaysia is the market that receives the biggest percentage of scam calls in the world.

On Nov 12, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Azis Jamman said 1,911 Malaysians lost RM94.04mil to Macau scams this year while another 1,303 lost RM67.74mil to parcel scammers.

The Truecaller report said that other than Malaysia, other top countries with the highest percentages of scam calls include Australia (60%), Lebanon (49%), Canada (48%) and South Africa (39%).

The police have a Facebook account, Cyber Crime Alert Royal Malaysia Police to warn the public about scams, as well as a portal for people to verify telephone numbers and bank account numbers that could be used by syndicates carrying out such scams.


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How to outsmart smartphone scammers ?

You carry your smartphone everywhere. But the way you use it could leave you vulnerable to specific forms of identity theft, including robocall scams and hackers looking to hijack your phone number. — AP

Be wary of these four types of financial predators

REGRETTABLY Malaysia seems to be fertile ground for all sorts of scammers. Just yesterday I received a text message from Bank Negara Malaysia, warning me not to open emails that claim they are from BNM and ask for payment verification.

The newspapers report every month on hundreds of Malaysians losing millions of Ringgit to all sorts of financial predators.

These are the four types of financial predators you should be aware of.

Financial predators that are selling you something amazing (for them). Some financial predators are trying to sell you something and only later you find out that the item is not the best use of your money at all.

Watch out for these financial predators:

* The pyramid scheme operator who is selling you products which sound expensive and technologically sophisticated, but are worthless.

* The shop owner, who recommends expensive or high margin products, which turn out to be unpopular or old products to increase his profit or clear his inventory.

* The property agent, who pushes you to purchase a house despite knowing that there is a price correction coming. He just cares about getting his commission.

* Financial predators that want to make you rich (but make you poor instead).

Other financial predators are not selling you a product, but a dream: to be rich one day. You would be amazed to find out how much people are willing to spend in their pursuit of this dream. You can get rich in many ways, but not nearly as many, as ways in which you can get scammed.

For instance, consider:

*The investor or trader that is selling you currency, gold, stock or property with the promise of extremely high returns. Sometimes they don’t sell the assets, but a "secret" formula or (software) tool to always make a winning trade. Don’t fall for it!

* The prince, minister, lottery winner, retired general and other personalities which will reward you with a slice of their wealth. If first you pay some legal / custom fees.

* The fake lottery / contest predator, that tricks you into thinking you won a sizeable sum of money. You just need to pay up some administration fees before you can redeem your prize.

* The scratch & win agent and casino operator. “The house always wins.” You will bring more to the casino operator than he will give back.

* The (soccer) bookie, who extends upfront credit for you to place more bets and win back your losses. But if you keep losing, his friendly helpfulness will quickly vanish.

Financial predators that "just" want to help you (into bigger problems)

Some financial predators pretend they just want to help you – some may even say they have nothing to gain from it. Be aware of these sophists!

* The financial planner that gets more commission the more financial products you buy. Never mind whether you really need all that insurance and other financial products.

* The loan shark that will give you better rates or quicker disbursement than the bank, but asks much higher interest rates in return.

* The salesman that is selling you expensive insurance on top of your car / phone etc that already have guarantee from the manufacturer.

* The car dealerships and stores who encourage you to take their own (more expensive) financing plans instead of your bank's instalment plans.

* The financial predator that is in love with you (or is it your money)?

* And then finally, the financial predator that lures you with dreams of romance. This one is the saddest of all, because doesn’t everyone deserve more genuine love in their life?

And isn’t it heart-breaking to see how scammers toy with people’s strongest desires, just for monetary gains?

Be aware for online girlfriends and boyfriends that contact you out of nowhere. Don’t be surprised when you find scammers that try to deceive you with romantic talk in the darkest of alleyways on the Internet (or just around the corner on Facebook and other social media apps).

Especially be wary if you have never seen your new love in real life or (s)he is a foreigner and needs your money in order to pay for visa or flights or to pay off local debts before (s)he is allowed to leave.

As you can tell, Malaysia and the world are full of financial predators. Don’t fall prey to them and become their lunch.

By Mark Reijman The Star/ANN

Mark Reijman is co-founder and managing director of https://www.comparehero.my/dedicated to increasing financial literacy and to help you save time and money by comparing all credit cards, loans and broadband plans in Malaysia. Keen on joining the team as a writer, then email mark@comparehero.my

Who invented bank deposit insurance?

I LOVE the Internet. The best Christmas present I got last year was a preview of a forthcoming book by a banker/historian in Boston. He sent me electronically his PhD thesis, a piece of masterly detective work on how ideas travel over time and space, become adopted successfully in a different place, and then comes back to where they started.

Dr Frederic Grant Jr's forthcoming book uncovered how the US bank deposit insurance system has its root in ideas borrowed from Canton (Guangdong province in southern China) of the 19th century. The origins of the US deposit insurance scheme arose from the 1828 The Safety Fund statute of the State of New York, drafted by a legislator named Joshua Forman.

In those days, if the state-authorised banks failed, the state would have to pay for their failure. Forman borrowed the idea from Canton that those authorised for privileged trade (in banks the privilege of private currency issue) should be responsible for their own debts.

The success of the New York Safety Fund inspired the adoption of similar schemes by 13 other American states. In 1933, the Banking Act of 1933 created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC), following the failure of many banks across the US. This idea of a national deposit insurance scheme has been adopted by many countries around the world, and is currently being considered in China.

How did Forman get the idea about the Canton Guaranty Scheme? Apparently, New York was already the major port for US-China trade and the scheme was familiar to New York businessmen.

How the Canton system evolved

It all came about because the Qing dynasty official merchants, namely merchant houses (or hongs) authorised by Beijing to conduct foreign trade, often require trade credit to conduct business with foreigners in Canton. If these traders defaulted on their loans, the foreigners threatened to take action on the weak Qing dynasty. Hence, in order to prevent individual merchant failure, the Qing government used a collective responsibility method evolved by the Manchu court in Beijing that ensured that those authorised to benefit from the foreign trade also collectively guaranteed each other's trade debt, and a premium was paid yearly into a fund to pay off any individual failure.

The Qing government solved the problem of defaults by imposing collective responsibility everyone was responsible for the group's debt. The good news is that the group as a whole made sure that no member got into trouble, engaging in what is today called “peer surveillance”. The bad news is that with collective guarantee, the smaller traders have an incentive to take higher risks, creating moral hazard private gain at collective loss. Moreover, as history showed, if trade was really bad, more traders failed and since the Qing government also borrowed or taxed the accumulated fund regularly, there were not enough money in the fund to settle all debts. Eventually the Canton Guaranty Fund also failed.

Corruption and misappropriation of fund was to blame, but the main culprit remained what Grant called “the perennial dilemma of inadequate capital and lack of access to affordable credit” for smaller hongs.

These problems plagued all deposit insurance schemes, even today. Large banks loath to support deposit insurance because they pay a larger share of the premium than smaller banks. Small banks enjoy the group insurance, but are more prone to failure because they were more likely to take more risks, which meant that there should be supervision to make sure that these riskier players do not destroy the group as a whole.

Deposit insurance worked very well in the United States, as the FDIC not only participated in supervision of the insured banks, but also engaged actively as the mortuary of failed banks. In the recent crisis, from 2009 to currently, the FDIC smoothly managed the exit of over 400 banks in the United States, without disruption to the system as a whole. But this time round, it was the failure of the shadow banks and larger banks that created the problem. Yes, smaller banks failed, but they did not take down the whole system because deposit insurance prevented large-scale bank runs at the retail level.

The time has come for China to adopt a formal deposit insurance scheme. There are at least three good reasons why it should occur. The first is that deposit insurance will help stop retail bank panic, exactly the reason for the Canton Guaranty Fund. The second is that there must be an orderly exit mechanism for financial institution failure. Some argue that a deposit insurance would duplicate supervision. Today we realise why we have two kidneys instead of one we need redundancy in the system, in case one fails.

The third, based on my personal experience, is that regulators who are good at daily operations may not always be very good at conducting the messy operations of restructuring failed banks. This is a very complicated process that needs strong skills, good bankruptcy laws and more investment banking skills than regulation. Deposit insurance is specialised work and needs specialised skills.

As Grant rightly said, the historical record of the Canton Guaranty System offers a number of valuable lessons to the modern world. “These include (1) that the tax that supports a guaranty fund must be based on measured risk of loss; (2) that the fund and its insureds must be made subject to strong independent supervision; (3) that laws enacted to avoid risk contingencies must be enforced; and (4) that both corruption and the diversion of fund assets must be strictly prohibited.”

The trouble with history is that we never seem to learn from history.

THINK ASIAN
BY ANDREW SHENG

 > Tan Sri Andrew Sheng is president of the Fung Global Institute. 

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A promising Malaysian tax budget for 2013 this Friday?

Broadening income tax bracket will benefit the rakyat as a whole

IN the next few days, the Finance Minister will share with the rakyat the financial health of the country and the Government’s proposed budget for the next 12 months.

With the mission of “Driving Transformation Towards a Developed Nation”, the Government would have the unenviable position of balancing the economy of the country amidst the uncertainties in the external market, as well as ensuring that the plight and wishes of its rakyat are not forgotten, especially in these challenging times.

As tax consultants, we have the opportunity to hear from our clients their expectations and hopes for the upcoming budget. This article aims to analyse some of these expectations as well as the writers’ views as fellow taxpayers and as a rakyat.

Lower taxes

Looking back at the past four budgets, the Government has introduced various ways of lowering the taxes for resident individuals. (See graphics)

While a reduction in tax rate is always a welcome relief to any taxpayer, it would still depend on which level the rates are reduced as it may only benefit certain taxpayers as can be seen in 2010 whereby only those in the highest tax bracket benefited from the 1% tax rate reduction.

What the Government has not introduced is the broadening of the income tax bracket, especially at the lower rates, which will not only benefit those from the lower and middle-income group but the rakyat as a whole, with a higher disposable income. (See tables)

The tax relief available in respect of premiums for education or medical insurance has not been reviewed since 2000. Further, the RM3,000 tax relief limit covers both education and medical insurance.

As education and healthcare are essential for every rakyat and his family, the Government should consider granting tax relief for each category of the insurance premium separately – one for education and another relief for medical insurance.

The Government has also not reviewed the child relief, which has remained at RM1,000 per child below 18 years of age since 2004. Any parent will vouch that providing for a child’s wellbeing is neither easy nor cheap. Any increase in child relief for tax purposes would be welcomed.

Affordable homes

Over the last few months, the news of spiralling property prices has been hitting the media.

Currently, the Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT) regime for residents and non-residents are the same, i.e. tax is charged on the gain from sale of real property depending on the duration of ownership of the real property regardless of the residence status of the seller.

Genuine resident home buyers, particularly young families who do not yet have high disposable income, are usually at the losing end compared to non-resident buyers, who are usually buyers with higher purchasing power and who perhaps have more speculative intentions.

In the past, the Government has introduced incentives such as stamp duty exemptions. However, the threshold to qualify for the exemption is limited to those properties which have value not exceeding RM350,000, thus leaving young city folks hard-pressed to find homes within this range given the spiralling property prices.

An effective measure previously introduced by the Government was the deduction in respect of interest expended by individuals to finance the purchase of residential property.

Unfortunately, this incentive was only valid for purchases whereby the sale and purchase agreement was executed within a specific period of time, which has since lapsed. The Government could re-introduce this incentive.

The Government could also consider imposing different RPGT rates for residents and non-residents. If there is a concern that foreign investors will shy away as a result, conditions could be put in place for non-residents to be eligible for the resident rates, for example:

 

• having stayed in Malaysia for a number of years or
• set up business operations in Malaysia for a number of years, etc.

Alternatively, to quell speculative transactions, the Government could consider increasing the RPGT rates for disposals made within five years from the date of acquisition of the property, which is currently at 10% and 5%, to perhaps the present corporate tax rate of 25%. Disposal after five years will be exempted from RPGT. Genuine home buyers should not be adversely affected by this measure.

A similar measure, although from a stamp duty perspective, was adopted by a neighbouring country whereby affected buyers are required to pay an Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty on top of the existing Buyer’s Stamp Duty. The affected buyers are mainly foreigners and non-individuals, or individuals who owned more than one or two residential properties. This is also an avenue for our Government to consider.

By NEOH BENG GUAN and NG SUE LYNN

·Neoh Beng Guan is executive director of KPMG Tax Services Sdn Bhd while Ng Sue Lynn is director.

Malaysian car prices to drop gradually?

Revised NAP likely to include policy to reduce car prices over next 3-4 years

PETALING JAYA: The revised National Automotive Policy (NAP) will include a policy that will address the gradual reduction of car prices in the country, said an industry source.

What happens to second-hand cars? Naza Group of Companies joint executive chairman SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin was quoted in a recent report as saying: if prices dropped, the resale value of a car would then plummet but the loan amount owed to banks (on cars already bought) would be unchanged.

“The Government, through the Malaysia Automotive Institute (MAI), had engaged us in the past few months to discuss on the matter,” he told StarBiz.

“There will be a policy that will tackle the gradual reduction of car prices in Malaysia. Details of this policy are expected to be made public in the near future,” he added.

The source said the policy would outline a structure to gradually reduce car prices over the next three to four years.

The Government has been considering it (the reduction of car prices) in the revised NAP and it was only a matter of time for this issue to be addressed,” said the industry source.

It is a known fact that the prices of cars are high in Malaysia compared with Thailand.

However, it has been argued that the cost of vehicle ownership in Malaysia is still among the most competitive in the Asean region, primarily due to the subsidised fuel prices, cheaper road tax and insurance premiums.

In a recent news report, MAI chief executive officer Madani Sahari was quoted as saying that Malaysia had the second lowest cost of vehicle ownership in the region after the Philippines.

According to him, the cost of vehicle ownership in Malaysia, compared to Thailand and Indonesia, was lower by 39% and 12% respectively.

In terms of petrol prices, Thailand was the highest, followed by Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, Madani said in the news report.

Meanwhile, on the point of car prices being slashed overnight via the reduction of vehicle excise duties, industry observers argue that the impact would be negative for existing buyers rather than first-time ones.

“If you're a first-time buyer, it would be like a dream come true as it means you can now afford to buy a car that was too expensive previously,” said one industry observer who requested anonymity.

“For the existing buyer, it would mean that the resale value of the car would have diminished overnight,” he added.

It is also argued that the sudden drop in vehicle prices would have a severe impact on second-hand car dealers.

Those servicing existing car loans will also be severely affected.

In a local news report recently, Naza Group of Companies joint executive chairman SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin was quoted as saying that if taxes were scrapped, consumers would have to overpay bank loans taken for their vehicles.

In the report, Nasarudin claimed that if prices dropped, the resale value of a car would then plummet but the loan amount owed to banks would be unchanged.

By EUGENE MAHALINGAM  eugenicz@thestar.com.my/Asia News Network 

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Cyber crooks target gamers; E-gambling dens menace, raid in Penang, etc

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Cyber crooks target gamers

 By P. ARUNA  aruna@thestar.com.my

SERI KEMBANGAN: Cyber crooks have now set up fake gaming sites to steal information from Internet surfers.

They are also stealing personal information from online gamers and selling virtual gaming items like weapons to other players.

Cybersecurity Malaysia, which is an agency under the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry, said cyber criminals were targeting gaming websites and had spread their wings to Malaysia, with five cases reported so far.

“Gaming websites have already become a lucrative business for cyber criminals in South Korea and China,” said Cybersecurity Malaysia vice-president (cyber security responsive services) Adli Abd Wahid.

“Gamers are spending more money on online gaming, purchasing battle tanks', avatars' and other virtual gadgets and tools needed to advance to higher levels of a certain online game.

“Cyber crooks can steal the usernames and passwords of users who have advanced to a certain level in a game, and sell the account to buyers who want to continue playing the game from that level.”

Adli said that since many gamers preferred not to waste time starting from the lowest levels, they were willing to buy from cyber crooks.

The crooks could also steal the virtual weapons and gadgets from compromised accounts and sell them to other players.

Adli estimated that 99% of phishing websites targeting Malaysians were created and operated overseas, with foreign syndicates often hiring locals as “money mules” to transfer stolen money to foreign bank accounts.

The number of phishing sites detected in Malaysia rose from 634 cases in 2009 to 1,426 reports that were lodged last year.

IDC Market Research (M) Sdn Bhd associate analyst Devtar Singh said there were currently an estimated 7.3 million online gamers in Malaysia.

International anti-phishing service provider Internet Identity (IID) reported that the attacks were expected to rise with the global online gaming industry generating over US$15bil (RM44bil) annually, making it a strong target for criminals.
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Residents: End the game for e-gambling dens

By ELAN PERUMAL and STUART MICHAEL  newsdesk@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: Action must be taken against operators of e-gambling dens because addiction to gambling is making families suffer, said Women, Family and Community Development Deputy Minister Heng Seai Kie.

Her ministry had received numerous complaints from women, especially mothers and wives, on the negative impact caused by such gambling dens.

They complained how family members had became addicted to gambling due to the existence of these premises near their homes.

Heng said the mothers complained that their children’s studies were badly affected by the addiction to gambling.

“The wives also told us that their husbands frequent such premises and lose their earnings at the cyber casinos,” she said.

Heng said she had received feedback that the number of illegal casinos were mushrooming in the Klang Valley, especially Selangor.

She urged the state government to act against this illegal activity.

Meanwhile, resident associations (RA) called for sterner action against the cyber casinos.

Aman Suria RA pro-tem chairman Wendy Chan said the lack of consistency among the local authorities had led to the mushrooming of the illegal cyber casinos.

While acknowledging the authorities did take action against the illegal e-gambling dens, Chan said their actions were not effective.

“The best way is for the local authorities to closely monitor and carry out regular checks.’’

Damansara Jaya RA president Datuk Hew Cheng Hoe said it was impossible for the residents associations to act on the complaints against the illegal activity.

“I believe the authorities will do the necessary to stop the illegal operators,’’ he said.

Bandar Country Homes RA president Soong Beng Khoon said the authorities should also go after those who supplied equipment to these illegal gambling centres.

He added that these casinos were popular as they were strategically located in residential areas.

Taman Rawang Perdana 2 RA chairman Ong Siew Hong said there were many cybercafes in his area and some youngsters, who initially played for fun, eventually become addicted.

“This has become a social problem and the authorities must view it seriously.”

 E-gambling menace

Stories by M.KUMAR and AUSTIN CAMOENS

Under control: A police officer securing the area during a raid on gambling dens in Gombak, Selangor.

KUALA LUMPUR: Many people, including schoolchildren, are losing millions of ringgit monthly at e-gambling dens.

The cyber casinos attract customers by offering a variety of gambling games from mahjong and roulette to virtual slot machines.

The premises are sparsely furnished. Rows of computers line the space and customers are seen glued to the screens.

Bets start from as low as 25sen to as high as the participant wants. There have been cases where players bet thousands of ringgit for one hand of Blackjack.

EO for cyber crooks

PETALING JAYA: The Emergency Ordinance (EO) will be used against operators of illegal cyber casinos who have been raking in millions of ringgit monthly.

The police, however, face a setback because the gaming servers are located overseas, making it difficult to nab the culprits.

Other developments:

> The Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Cybercafe Owners Association has come up with an integrated approach to rebrand the industry and educate members;

> Selangor Government slammed over inaction against such operators; and

> Habitual gamblers say they are attracted by the low bets offered.

13 held in Penang after cyber raid

By TAN SIN CHOW sctan@thestar.com.my

GEORGE TOWN: Police have detained 13 caretakers and workers of cybercafes which are believed to be fronts for illegal online gambling.

During an operation code-named Ops Dadu, the police also seized 128 computer sets from 13 cybercafes throughout the state.

State CID chief Senior Asst Comm (SAC) Zahruddin Abdullah said the 13, mostly caretakers in their 20s and 30s, were nabbed during a five-hour operation which ended at 1am.

Gambling gadgets: George Town CID chief Deputy Supt Shahurinain Jais showing some of the seized items at Datuk Keramat police station in Penang Thursday. Aug 4, 2011

 

Most such premises were found in central Seberang Prai and George Town districts.

SAC Zahruddin said police had intensified their raids on online gambling dens with 4,440 computers and gambling machines seized in the first six months of this year.

He added that 1,150 raids were also carried out with 440 arrests made.

“The statistics show the number of raids, arrests and seizures have increased tremendously compared with last year and 2009.

“Constant raids have been carried out but the problems still persist. We will continue with our efforts,” he said during a press conference at the state police headquarters here yesterday.

Police made 759 and 434 arrests in 2009 and last year respectively.

They had carried out 1,045 raids in 2009 and 1,339 last year.

SAC Zahruddin said there were hundreds of cyber cafes in Penang with a large number being run without licences from local authorities.

He added that many operators were also caught abusing licences obtained from local authorities by running online gambling in their premises.

“We have problems tracking down the masterminds as most of the time those who look after the premises are foreigners.

“The operators have hi-tech tools. With only the press of a button, computers in the premises will be switched off.

“This makes it even harder for us to establish a case against them.”

When contacted, Penang municipal councillor Iszuree Ibrahim said cybercafe operators who run online gambling activities had never applied for licences from the Penang Municipal Council.

He said only 17 out of hundreds of cybercafe operators on the island were given licences.

“We are only able to issue summonses to the perpetrators but this will not deter them from carrying out such activities at their premises as they are raking in millions of ringgit annually.”

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