TikTok a hotbed for investment scams, police warn

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 — The Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) have revealed that TIkTok is becoming the app of choice for criminal syndicates looking for victims to promote their investment scams, as the app is fast being adopted by social media users.

Bukit Aman Commercial Crimes Investigations Department (CCID) director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said from 2021 to October this year, investment scams on TikTok recorded an increase of over 90 per cent, with 131 cases from January to October, compared to 59 cases in 2023, 27 cases in 2022 and 13 cases in 2021.

“In terms of losses, the recorded total has risen from only RM0.41 million in 2021 to RM1.28 million in 2022 and then RM7.25 million in 2023.

“For this year, till October, total losses recorded has exceeded RM6.39 million,” he said at a media conference at the Bukit Aman CCID office here today.

From the 131 cases, 66 victims were women, while 65 were men, with the majority of them being aged 31 to 40 (23 per cent), followed by those 21 to 30 (21.4 per cent) and 41 to 50 (17.5 per cent), while in terms of occupation, private sector individuals formed the majority of the victims with 54.2 per cent, unemployed (16.8 per cent), retirees (9.9 per cent), civil servants (7.6 per cent), businessmen (6.9 per cent) and students (4.6 per cent), he shared.

“Based on the website meltwater.com, as of January, social media users exceeded 28.68 million people and this total is equivalent to 83.1 per cent of the total population of Malaysia, 34.5 million people.

“This number clearly explains why social media has become the platform of choice for syndicates looking for victims. Besides being able to reach such a large number of potential victims, social media gives criminals the advantage of concealing their identities.

“Technological advancements, including artificial intelligence (AI), allow syndicates to create fake advertisements using photos and videos of famous celebrities to deceive victims,” Ramli said as he explained how to rapid adoption of social media in Malaysia led to a rise in scam cases.

Many users continue to be tricked and scammed even though the police have repeatedly issued warnings about scams proliferating on social media, he said and advised the public not to believe any investment ad on social media without proper verification. — Bernama