The head of the public services and complaints department of the Malaysian Chinese Association, Michael Chong, has warned Malaysians who have fallen victim to a new type of scam. He noted that some companies are posing as "law firms" specializing in anti-fraud, promising unusually high recovery rates, but ultimately exploit their victims again.
Chong explained that his office has received complaints about online advertisements from entities claiming to be legal firms and boasting of a success rate of over 90% in resolving fraud cases. He added: "They lure you with an enticing story, and then they completely drain you."
He mentioned that the same group of scammers may use multiple law firm names. Chong also pointed out that although these groups present themselves as cross-border legal companies, their advertisements repeatedly mention payment in Malaysian Ringgit, which is conclusive proof that their operations are based in Malaysia and targeting local victims.
He clarified that based on his legal experience, Chinese clients tend to ask for a firm's "success rate," making such claims an effective psychological motivator.
Chong added: "Based on my experience handling fraud cases, our success rate is 0%. How can anyone claim a success rate of 90 or 95%?"
In a recent case, as reported by the Star newspaper, a woman who tried to recover 1,500 Malaysian Ringgit (366 USD) lost to a scam was later defrauded of another 1.2 million Ringgit (292,700 USD) by another fraudulent company. In another case, the newspaper reported that a man lost 390,000 Ringgit to a scam and then lost another 33,000 Ringgit after turning to what he thought was a law firm to recover the initial amount, only for those funds to be spent on an attempt to recover even more money.
One lawyer said the ads appear to be specifically designed to target certain groups, especially Chinese individuals. He explained: "The Ringgit is not a widely traded currency, which shows that their intended victims are Malaysians."
