Friday October 29, 2010
Scratch-and-win scams going down
By FARIK ZOLKEPLI
[email protected]
NUSAJAYA: The number of scratch-and-win scams nationwide has decreased drastically following an intense crackdown as well as more public awareness campaigns. Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Deputy Minister Datuk Tan Lian Hoe said that among action taken was placing its personnel at the syndicates premises and advising people not to be duped by their “attractive” offers.
“Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Johor are among the states with the highest number of cases (scratch and win). “However, Johor with an average of 10 cases per month has shown the most improvement with only one case this month,” she told a press conference after launching the consumer empowerment seminar in Kota Iskandar here yesterday. Tan also said a syndicate’s premises in Permas Jaya, Johor Baru had closed down earlier this month due to lack of customers.
She said ministry officials were also assigned to hotspots such as shopping complexes to distribute flyers on the dangers of participating in such scams adding that the response from the public had been tremendous. “It is not easy to catch these syndicates, so we are more focused on deterring the public from becoming victims of their supposed ‘lucrative’ offers,” she said, adding that the ministry would focus on Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, which still averaged about 10 cases per month. Tan said the ministry was investigating the masterminds behind such syndicates.
Asked whether VIPs or Datuks were among the suspected masterminds, Tan said investigations so far had not indicated this. She said that the Consumer Claims Tribunal had recorded 573 cases nationwide this year but the ministry aimed to reduce the number of cases as much as possible. “People from all walks of life including doctors and school principals, and even a friend who is a company director, have fallen victim,” she said.
