KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 2): Hartalega Holdings Bhd has taken legal action against scammers who entice prospective buyers by claiming to have ready stock of the group's gloves.

In a statement, its chief executive officer Kuan Mun Leong said he is gravely concerned by the worsening behaviour of these fraudsters.

“As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a significant increase in demand for gloves. Attempting to capitalise on the situation, scammers have relentlessly approached potential buyers with false claims.

“Their claims revolve around having ready stock and allocation of Hartalega’s own brand nitrile and latex gloves, GloveOn. Their fraudulent schemes include claiming to be stock allocators for Hartalega, requesting for payment to be deposited in escrow or third-party accounts and utilising social media to solicit business, among others,” he said.

Kuan advises buyers to remain vigilant, noting all orders go through Hartalega directly and only emails sent from the group’s domain @hartalega.com.my are genuine.

“We never solicit any business on social media, nor do we solicit for payment via social media. We produce to order and given the global shortage of gloves currently, there is no excess stock or capacity.

“Furthermore, GloveOn products bought in Malaysia are for Malaysian consumption only and are not for export purposes,” said Kuan.

Kuan also said the group dealt directly with its officially appointed distributors listed on its website at https://gloveonglobal.com/mys/distributors/ and did not appoint brokers or re-sellers for re-export.

“We do not collaborate with any other factories within Malaysia or any factories outside of Malaysia to produce or pack our gloves, nor do we appoint any third parties to represent Hartalega for export of our GloveOn brand,” said Kuan.

He also highlighted that Hartalega has taken action against the cheats and has lodged several police reports over the past few months.

“Further to this, we have initiated litigation against one of the perpetrators, with court proceedings ongoing. We are in discussion with our legal counsel to initiate further legal action or recourse against other scammers.

“The fact that people are being misled by these fraudulent operators is a very serious crime, particularly given the fact that gloves are critical personal protective equipment, especially for those in the healthcare industry. We urge all buyers to beware of these glove scammers,” he said.

Hartalega closed 16 sen or 0.89% down at RM17.84, valuing the company at RM61.15 billion.