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April 1, 2021 @ 5:17pm
LETTER: The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) and the National Consumer Complaints Centre (NCCC) would like to alert Malaysian consumers on sudden spike of scams related complaints and be cautious and remain alert to scams.

Scammers are becoming increasingly more sophisticated with their tactics and are hoping that you let your guard down. We urge consumers not to provide their personal, banking or any details to strangers who have approached them though phone calls.

Fomca been receiving approximately 450 complaints and enquiries related to scam since January 2021. Based on our observation, these scammers take advantage of the vulnerable consumers and surprisingly some of the victims are highly educated.

It is becoming more difficult to know and differentiate between a scam and a legitimate business. Fomca also would like to urge all relevant authorities to be more active and play their role in curbing these unscrupulous activities.

Many consumers are still not aware about scamming activities. The Communications and Multimedia Ministry and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) should play an important role to educate consumers by using their channels to reach out to the public at large.

The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry also need to publish and update frequently all scam related cases in their website so that consumers would be able to get information relating to scams. Enforcement agencies also must charge these culprits and increase fines and jail terms for these offences.

Scammers are constantly trying to steal consumers' personal data using fake emails, websites, phone calls, and even text messages. They use a variety of ways to try to trick people into providing personal information, bank account numbers, and other valuable information such as credit card numbers.

1 April 2021
THE Consumer Claims Tribunal and Tribunal for Homebuyer Claims do not allow the disputing parties to be represented by practising lawyers. This is because they are supposed to be low-cost forums for the public’s small claims matters.

In many cases, this provision leaves the claimants at a great disadvantage as large businesses often have employees who have legal qualifications. These employees, who are not holding practising certificates from the Bar Council, are assigned to represent their employers at tribunal hearings. For all practical purposes, they are “lawyers” but are allowed to speak for their employers.

The man in the street can get the help of anyone (including lawyers) to prepare their claim forms for filing. But at the hearing, they may have difficulty presenting their cases. They may not be articulate enough or coherent in their presentation, and may not be able to rebut what the defendants’ “lawyers” are saying.

Thus, some claimants are left in a very disadvantageous position at the hearings not because they have any physical “disability”, but because their knowledge, experience, confidence and ability to articulate their thoughts are no match for the defendants’ “lawyers”.

A clause in the laws of the tribunals says: “a minor or any other person under a disability may be represented by his next friend or guardian ad litem”.

Is a layperson claimant who is facing a “lawyer” from the defendant’s side “under a disability” as he is no match for the “lawyer”? How is this section interpreted and applied by the tribunals?

1 April 2021
PETALING JAYA: The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) is investigating a syndicate suspected of running unlicensed investment schemes promising high returns to prospective investors.

In a statement today, the SC said the syndicate was being investigated for alleged offences under the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007.

It said SC officers raided several of the syndicate’s locations in Kuala Lumpur recently, confiscating their records and devices. Their servers were also shut down.

According to the statement, the syndicate, which also runs two clone firm schemes promising high returns in a short period of time, was believed to have duped hundreds of investors of over RM7 million.

Initial investigations show that the syndicate had been operating the unlicensed schemes since 2016.

SC identified these schemes as:

1 April, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: Dakwaan mengatakan Kementerian Perdagangan Dalam Negeri dan Hal Ehwal Pengguna (KPDNHEP) hanya menjaga golongan peniaga di negara ini adalah tidak tepat.

Ini kerana, kementerian itu perlu memastikan semua pihak di dalam rantaian kepenggunaan disantuni sebaik mungkin demi kebaikan bersama.

Timbalan Menterinya, Datuk Rosol Wahid berkata, ia terbukti apabila golongan peniaga diambil tindakan di atas kesalahan yang dilakukan.

"Banyak saman kita keluarkan. Kalau kita jaga peniaga saja, tentu kita tak saman. Jadi kalau ada tuduhan begitu, saya rasa ia tidak tepat,"katanya pada program secara langsung di Facebook Persatuan Pengguna Islam Malaysia (PPIM), hari ini.

Turut serta sebagai panelis gandingan, Ketua Aktivis PPIM Datuk Nadzim Johan.

Hadir sama, Pengarah Bahagian Penguatkuasaan KPDNHEP Azman Adam.

Ditanya mengenai kenaikan harga mendadak pada musim perayaan, Rosol berkata, perkara itu diberi perhatian kementeriannya dengan pelancaran Skim Harga Maksimum Musim Perayaan yang diumumkan dua minggu sebelum sambutan.

Katanya, ia salah satu inisiatif KPDNHEP untuk mengawal harga dan melakukan pemantauan bagi memastikan tiada pihak mengambil kesempatan.

Turut disentuh di dalam program berkenaan ialah mengenai tindakan diambil kementerian bagi setiap aduan yang dibuat pengguna di negara ini.

"Setiap isu yang dilaporkan kepada KPDNHEP akan diambil tindakan dengan sekurang-kurangnya dalam tempoh tiga hari.

Mac 31, 2021 @ 10:26am
Jempol : Seorang wanita yang juga pesara kerajaan menjadi mangsa penipuan love scam sehingga mengakibatkan kerugian RM10,800.

Ketua Polis Daerah Jempol Superintendan Hoo Chang Hook berkata mangsa berusia 54 tahun pada awalnya mengenali seorang lelaki bernama Mohamed Ibrahim yang mendakwa dirinya seorang warganegara Poland melalui Facebook pada Disember tahun lalu.

Katanya lanjutan itu, mangsa dan lelaki yang tidak ditemui itu kemudian sepakat menjadikan hubungan maya sebagai pasangan kekasih.

"Mangsa kemudian dijanjikan akan mendapat pelbagai hadiah antaranya beg tangan, kasut, baju, barang kemas dan wang sebagai tanda persahabatan.

"Lelaki Poland itu kemudian memberitahu mangsa bahawa sudah mengepos barangan yang dijanjikan namun gagal melepasi pemeriksaan pihak berkuasa.

"Mangsa kemudian dihubungi ejen penghantaran bagi menyelesaikan masalah barang yang tersekat dan diminta membuat pembayaran," katanya di sini.

Hoo berkata mangsa yang percaya dengan masalah itu, kemudian membuat pembayaran menerusi satu akaun bank.

Katanya mangsa sekali diminta membuat pembayaran namun menyedari sudah ditipu.

Mac 31, 2021 @ 10:26am
Jempol : Seorang wanita yang juga pesara kerajaan menjadi mangsa penipuan love scam sehingga mengakibatkan kerugian RM10,800.

Ketua Polis Daerah Jempol Superintendan Hoo Chang Hook berkata mangsa berusia 54 tahun pada awalnya mengenali seorang lelaki bernama Mohamed Ibrahim yang mendakwa dirinya seorang warganegara Poland melalui Facebook pada Disember tahun lalu.

Katanya lanjutan itu, mangsa dan lelaki yang tidak ditemui itu kemudian sepakat menjadikan hubungan maya sebagai pasangan kekasih.

"Mangsa kemudian dijanjikan akan mendapat pelbagai hadiah antaranya beg tangan, kasut, baju, barang kemas dan wang sebagai tanda persahabatan.

"Lelaki Poland itu kemudian memberitahu mangsa bahawa sudah mengepos barangan yang dijanjikan namun gagal melepasi pemeriksaan pihak berkuasa.

"Mangsa kemudian dihubungi ejen penghantaran bagi menyelesaikan masalah barang yang tersekat dan diminta membuat pembayaran," katanya di sini.

Hoo berkata mangsa yang percaya dengan masalah itu, kemudian membuat pembayaran menerusi satu akaun bank.

Katanya mangsa sekali diminta membuat pembayaran namun menyedari sudah ditipu.

29th MARCH 2021

PRESS RELEASE: MOTOR INSURANCE A BANE TO THE SOCIETY

Each and every vehicle on the road need to have both insurance as well as road tax. Without these vehicles are not allowed to be on the road. In fact, without insurance, car owners are not allowed to renew the road tax. In another word, insurance policy is very important for all car owners.

Just imagine the number of vehicles on the road, from motorcycles to trailers. Although it is vital to own a vehicle insurance policy to protect the policy holder’s vehicle in the event of an accident, but are the insurance companies doing what they are supposed to do in the event of the accident?

One peculiar situation faced by consumers are workshops who are not under the insurer’s panel. Although the workshops are registered with Persatuan Insurans Am Malaysia (PIAM) and Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan Raya (JPJ), some insurance companies deny the consumers choice. This contradicts against the 8 pillars of the consumer’s right which is freedom to choose. Consumers have their regular visits to their workshops whom they feel confident of the mechanics working on their vehicles. To deny the policy holders to go to the workshops of their choice is equivalent to infringe on the freedom to choose.

As long as the workshops are registered under PIAM and JPJ should suffice for the insurer to pay for the repair work in the event of an accident. On top of that the insurers will appoint their own adjuster to evaluate the amount of damage after the policy holder sends the vehicle to the workshop with the police report. So why does the insurer insist the policy holders to send the vehicles to the insurer’s panel workshop.

Monday, 29 Mar 2021
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here has recorded a consent judgment between a 42-year-old cancer patient and an insurance company in a RM2.5mil lawsuit she filed against the latter.

In the judgment recorded before Judicial Commissioner Liza Chan Sow Keng here on Monday (March 29), businesswoman Tan Siew Wei and Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Bhd achieved a full and final settlement in one of the two insurance policies she is claiming for.

In the settlement, a sum of RM500,000 was to be paid by the defendant to Tan as a full and final settlement of all the claims and demands which Tan has against the defendant, in respect to the particular policy.

Tan, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 cervical cancer in 2019, had sued the company for rejecting her critical illness insurance claims on allegations that she had broken the policy clause with a non-disclosure on her mental state, where she was diagnosed with an anxiety attack in February, 2017.

She is suing the company to claim for RM500,000, which is the basic sum assured from the first life insurance policy, and another RM2mil, the basic sum assured from her second life insurance policy.

The court ordered for the settlement sum to be paid before April 1 and did not make any order as to costs.

Neither party would have any further claim against the other after the settlement is completed. The policy shall be terminated with all the benefits and rights provided under the policy to cease.

23 Mac 2021
KUANTAN- Tindakan seorang pemuda yang mengemas kini akaun bank miliknya menerusi pautan yang diterima melalui sistem pesanan ringkas (SMS) menjerat diri apabila wang simpanannya berjumlah RM15,000 lesap.

Kejadian berlaku pada Selasa lalu, apabila mangsa berusia 22 tahun menerima satu SMS memintanya mengemas kini dan mengesahkan akaun bank miliknya.

Ketua Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah Komersial Pahang, Superintendan Mohd Wazir Mohd Yusof berkata, pada mulanya mangsa tidak mengendahkan, namun selepas menerima SMS sama pada keesokan hari menyebabkan mangsa bertindak mengakses pautan yang diberikan itu.

"Mangsa menekan pautan itu kerana yakin itu adalah SMS dari pihak bank dan terus mendaftar masuk ke laman web sebuah bank bagi mengemas kini dan mengaktifkan akaunnya.

"Setelah itu, mangsa terus mendaftar keluar tanpa membuat sebarang semakan semula ke atas akaun miliknya," katanya dalam satu kenyataan pada Selasa.

Beliau berkata, bagaimanapun pada Sabtu lalu, mangsa terkejut apabila mendapati terdapat tiga transaksi pemindahan wang dilakukan kepada individu tidak dikenali sebanyak RM15,000.

Jelasnya, mangsa kemudian menghubungi pihak bank dan menceritakan masalah yang berlaku dan sekatan akaun telah dibuat.