Exclusive: Fools rush in

Gullible victims losing big bucks after being declared competition 'winners'

THASHA JAYAMANOGARAN

Thursday, July 7th, 2011 11:31:00

KUALA LUMPUR: Despite not taking part in telephony and SMS competitions, many people are still parting with their money to claim their so-called "prize".

MCA Public Services and Complaints Bureau chief Datuk Michael Chong expressed his rising concern to The Malay Mail as more fall trap to these conmen.

MCA records showed at least seven people had lost RM122,668 to such scams this year.

Last year, eight people lost RM506,610 after receiving "winning" messages through phone calls and SMSes.

Out of the 15 cases reported to MCA,10 victims attempted to claim the winning money out of sheer greed even though they did not take part in such competitions. However, at the end, they parted with a hefty sum.

Chong said most of the victims banked in a sum of money into a given account of the conman to retrieve their prize money.

Victims were duped into transferring their money to pay for stamp duties, legal fees, bank taxes and other payments if it involved conmen who were foreigners.

"After settling all the fees, the conman would 'disappear' and only then would the victim realise they had lost a hefty sum of money," Chong said.

"I urge the public to use common sense. If they have never participated in any competitions, they should think twice about how they could have won."

Chong said companies, event and online sites should not sell people's personal details to third parties, adding Internet users should also filter details they share online to ensure it does not fall into the hands of unscrupulous parties.