This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on March 27, 2023 - April 2, 2023

Cases of fraud are emerging in an endless stream. In September last year, many job scams were exposed, in which job seekers had been cheated by offers to work in Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and other countries and ended up being trapped by fraudulent outfits. Most of the victims were lured by job advertisements and were eventually forced to work for criminal groups. Job seekers, especially the younger generation, should be alert to the methods used by these groups, so that they do not end up in situations that they later regret.

To date, the Malaysian government has managed to rescue more than 400 victims of these scams. Many of them have come forward to expose the methods used by the criminal groups. Usually, these criminals would ask the victims to commit fraud or demand ransom from the victims’ families by holding them hostage in overseas locations, including Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines.

The main modus operandi of these groups is to distribute advertisements promising high-paying jobs through social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram and WeChat. Typically, the salaries offered are in the range of RM5,000 to RM8,000 or more, with accommodation and various benefits provided to lure the victims to Southeast Asian countries. When job seekers go abroad to work expecting a high salary and benefits, they fall into the trap.

The agents of these fraudulent companies take the victims to remote places that are usually heavily guarded. The guards are equipped with firearms, so it is impossible for the victims to escape. The victims’ documents, such as identification cards and passports, are also confiscated to prevent them from escaping. The criminal groups brainwash their victims every day, using all kinds of threats and persuasion techniques to force them to participate in fraud. If they do not cooperate, they are locked up and beaten.

Lin, 25, who was deceived by an online job advertisement, said that although he had a salary of RM4,000, the supervisor would make deductions for various reasons and food in the canteen was expensive, costing about RM20 per meal. Employees who fell sick had to pay for the medical treatment themselves, so there was not much left of their salary at the end of the month. Following his bitter experience, he warned everyone, especially those who saw such offers on Facebook, not to believe any advertisements for job recruitment promising many job openings and good promotion prospects, or those making gambling offers and so on, because most of them are false.

Apart from promising high-tech jobs, criminal groups use love scams to trick young people. One victim who was imprisoned by one of these groups had gone to Thailand to meet a woman he had befriended on the net, and ended up dying in a hospital there.

The lesson that can be learnt from these cases is that there is no easy way to earn a good living. Coveting a high salary without working at it in the time-tested way is an invitation for trouble. After being sold to a criminal gang in a foreign country, you may have no way to ask for help. You will ruin your life in minutes and regret it forever.

Lee Ming Sem is a third-year student at the Faculty of Business and Communication, Universiti Malaysia Perlis

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