However, scammers are also known to prey on vulnerable people like that.
An eye for an eye
A woman from Melaka recently learned that the hard way after she lost a whole lot of money to scammers for a non-existent loan.According to The Star Online, the 23-year-old entrepeneur reportedly paid RM19,681 in processing fees for a RM20,000 loan that she never received as it turned out to be a scam all along.
The woman, who runs a catering company, reportedly applied for the loan via an online loan provider after seeing an ad on 29 January.
Melaka Commercial Crime chief Supt E. Sundra Rajan, in confirming the matter, told the news portal that he was baffled that the victim paid an amount that was almost equal to the amount of the loan she needed.
“The case doesn’t make sense but our investigation revealed that the same fraudster had cheated eight individuals using the same tactic, with losses suffered by all the victims estimated at close to RM72,000 collectively.
“This shows that there are still many gullible people falling for loan scams despite media reports on the prevalence of such scammers, ” he was quoted as saying.
Supt Sundra Rajan explained that the woman deposited the RM19,681 as processing fees and charges for stamping duty into five different accounts after being directed by the scammer to do so.
Later, realising she has been cheated, the woman lodged a police report at the Masjid Tanah police station when she failed to receive the loan.
The case is reportedly being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
How to avoid falling for scams
With scam calls getting more rampant these days, it is important to protect yourself and your hard-earned money.Before you decide to give away your fortune, take into consideration these things:
1) Transfer money to you? No thanks!
Think about it: why would some one asks you to transfer a huge sum of money to their bank account just so that they can help you? Legit loan companies such as banks would not ask you to transfer over processing fees.So, the moment that some one asks you for money over the phone, just know that it's bad news and hang up the phone because 12 out of 10 times that it's a scam.
2) Delete suspicious links and ads
Whatever you do, do not click on any link that's been sent over to you via text or e-mail from a suspicious source. Scammers typically use those links to get your personal information, or worse, you banking details.If you receive such texts or e-mails, the safest thing to do is to just delete them. If you are in need of money, go through proper channels.
3) Never reveal any personal information
This is an important tip, boys and girls: it is always important to remember not to reveal any personal information to anyone.They might ask you for your IC number, or your personal banking details, or ask you to click on a suspicious link.
When they do, the correct answer is: 'Ehh, you think I'm stupid issit?
4) Never think that you're too smart to kena scam
Even if you're the smartest person in the room, always remember that there are people out there smarter than you.Scammers are now armed with sophisicated tech and gadgets, and getting you to part with your hard-earned money is not too hard if you're not vigilant enough.
So, it's always better to be the 'dumb' one than be the smart one that got scammed.