KOTA KINABALU: A consumer group has urged the people to stay informed and vigilant amid the escalating threat of online scams in the country.

Sabah National Consumer Foundation (YPNM) chairman David Chan said the public must keep updated on how scams are carried out as well as advice from the authorities on ways and new technologies to avoid becoming a victim.

On its part, Chan said, the Sabah YPNM will continue to step up efforts to implement campaigns to raise the awareness level among consumers including their rights.

“We will hold several programmes including educational and informative campaigns as well as provide assistance and advice especially to vulnerable groups who are targeted by scammers,” he said in a statement here on Friday (June 28).

“Through such initiatives, consumers will be able to learn about the modus operandi employed by scammers, so that they can avoid falling victim and potentially lose their hard earned money,” he added.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reforms) M. Kulasegaran had told the Dewan Rakyat in March that a total of RM3.2bil had been lost to online scams between 2020 and 2023.

This involved 107,716 cases, he said, adding that the government was taking comprehensive action to tackle the issue.

Chan reminded the public not to share personal as well as financial details with unknown parties particularly through dubious phone calls, e-mail correspondence or websites.

He also advised people not to fall for “good deals” online, especially those that appeared too good to be true, adding that in most cases these are often scams.