Beware & Protect Yourself 07 (Jun 23 - Jan 24)

[winston]

I don’t dare to use WhatsApp Web any more, says man in S’pore whose account was used to scam friend

By YONG LI XUAN

The scammer even archived the chats with these people, so he would not notice these conversations happening in the background.

Archived chats on the popular messaging app do not show up in the list of chats and are accessible in a separate folder.

A recent spate of scams where WhatsApp accounts are infiltrated and scammers message contacts of victims asking for money or personal information.

The police warned on Friday of fraudulent websites that “trick users into authorising access to their WhatsApp account for the scammers”.

Source: Straits Times

https://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-ne ... cam-friend

[winston]

Watch out for quishing – or phishing with QR codes

Today, a new kind of scam is on the rise, known as quishing. This involves tricking people with a simple QR code.

The term 'quishing' is actually a contraction of 'QR code' and 'phishing’.

The golden rule is to never click on a suspicious link – or in this case a QR code – received in an email, which could send you to a corrupted site.

As a general rule, if you receive an email from your bank, insurance company, social security or even your telephone operator – whether it's genuine or a phishing attempt – you should never click on any link.

Similarly, never open unexpected attachments or attachments in an unfamiliar format.

Source: AFP

https://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-ne ... e=smartech

[behappyalways]

6 Malaysian piglets escaped from Myanmar, 3 were rescued, 2 were recaptured and 1 is missing
6大马猪仔从缅甸逃跑 3人获救 2人被捉回1人失踪 | 八点最热报 05/11/2023
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=l3JPJP--gDg


Frequent scams among the elderly in mainland China, claiming that an 80,000 yuan mattress can cure all diseases
中國大陸老人詐騙頻傳 誆稱8萬元床墊能治百病｜TVBS新聞
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=piHdMAEeyJc

[winston]

‘Datuk Wira’ allegedly scams victims of nearly RM1b through non-existent investments

One of the victims from Scotland, Lee Roger Meiklejohn, 51, said he lost nearly RM60 million as a result of being deceived by the businessman.

Source: Bernama

https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/689219

[winston]

Bank staff in S’pre foil scammer who went with 80-year-old victim to bank branch to withdraw over RM138,000

By SAMUEL DEVARAJ

Source: Straits Times

https://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-ne ... e=smartech

[winston]

Man in SG who allegedly cheated woman of over RM336,000 in love scam handed 17 charges

By NADINE CHUA

A man allegedly used a fictitious online persona to befriend a woman whom he later deceived into transferring to him over S$97,000 (RM336,704)

According to the police’s mid-year scam statistics for 2023, there were 22,339 scam cases reported from January to June, a 64.5% increase from the 13,576 cases during the same period in 2022.

However, the total amount victims lost in the first half of this year dipped slightly to S$334.5mil (RM1.16bil), from S$342.1mil (RM1.18bil) during the same period last year.

Love scams were the seventh scam of concern in the first six months of 2023, with 446 cases reported where at least S$25.9mil (RM89.89mil) was lost.

Source: Straits Times

https://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-ne ... 17-charges

[winston]

80-year-old Hong Kong woman loses HK$9.1 million to scammers; police arrest more than 200 people in online fraud crackdown

Retiree tricked out of millions by scammer posing as potential tenant, who lured her into bogus investments and convinced her to transfer money to bank account

Police arrest 157 men and 66 women, aged between 18 and 69, over week-long period on charges of deception, fraud and money laundering

by Lo Hoi-ying

Source: SCMP

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law ... ple-online

[winston]

‘Assistant to feng shui master’ tricks Hong Kong professional into paying HK$4 million to ward off bad luck

Victim received WhatsApp message on October 19 from scammer impersonating assistant of feng shui master, insider says

She transferred HK$3.92 million into 10 bank accounts in 24 transactions in six days, source adds

by Clifford Lo

Source: SCMP

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law ... cbcfc44bae

[winston]

Fake 'WhatsApp Web' pages scam RM2mil from people in S'pore this month

Scammers first gain control of compromised WhatsApp accounts after users click on unverified URL links while searching for the official WhatsApp Web webpage.

Impersonating the original account user, scammers then reach out to the user’s family or friends listed on the account’s contact list asking for loans.

Scammers typically claim that they urgently need the money for themselves, to pay for purchases or to help a friend or relative in financial distress.

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline on 1800-722-6688.

Source: Straits Times

https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/as ... e=smartech

[winston]

Millions lost to scammers in wood furniture, carving industry, says group

Peka says while such scams were limited to physical sales in furniture stores when first detected 10 years ago, they are now prevalent on online platforms.

Local wood entrepreneurs lose RM5.4 million annually due to scams.

These scams involve “irresponsible parties” selling low-quality wood furniture and carvings either physically or online.

Check the authenticity of wood furniture and wood carving companies on www.pekapgrm.com before making any transactions.

Source: FMT

https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/categ ... -366156373