Deputy Comm Rusdi Mohd Isa
KUCHING (March 1): The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) received 54 police reports involving 83 Sarawakians who fell victim to overseas job scams between 2021 and Feb 23 this year.
Criminal Investigation Department (CID) deputy director Deputy Comm Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa said 64 of the victims have been rescued and returned to Malaysia.
“Based on our statistics, these job scam victims mostly took jobs in Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos. Other destinations include the UAE (United Arab Emirates) and the Philippines,” he told the media after closing the six-day Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (Atipsom) Act 2007 Enforcement Course for Sarawak and Sabah Zone today.
Rusdi said last October, 40 Sarawakians out of 43 Malaysians were rescued from Peru after they were forced to work in a Macau scam.
“Based on our studies, 73 per cent of victims are forced to work as scammers, 12 per cent in the service industry, 8 per cent in casinos, and 7 per cent as chefs and others,” he said.
He pointed out lucrative salaries were a pull factor for individuals who fell victim to job scams.
Victims are also prone to be influenced by trends and overseas job offers that they come across on social media, he said.
“Initially, the victim is offered to work in an investment company or a licenced casino. Some were even offered to work in a resort,” said Rusdi.
He explained once the victims reach the job destination country, they would instead be forced to work as scammers.
He pointed out that as the actual crime is committed overseas, there have been few arrests of job scammers in Malaysia.
Among the strategies set by PDRM, he said, are to focus on arresting recruiters for the syndicate in Malaysia and to collaborate with other agencies such as Interpol and Aseanapol to rescue stranded victims.
“However, the best way is to create and raise awareness of job scams among the public through the media and social media platforms,” he added.
Between 2021 and Feb 23, PDRM recorded 354 job scam cases involving a total of 459 Malaysians nationwide.
Currently 133 Malaysians are still abroad and efforts to bring them home are ongoing.