KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 — Part-time job offers that are supposedly easy, such as tasks involving ‘likes’, ‘shares’ or online purchases, have now become a scam tactic that deceives the public, especially individuals looking for additional income.

Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa, said that the activities were detected based on intelligence and information collected over a period of 15 months from January 2025 to March 15.

He said that a total of 10,304 cases were recorded during that period, involving losses of approximately RM251.2 million, with Selangor recording the highest number of cases and losses, namely 2,684 cases involving losses of RM80.18 million, followed by Kuala Lumpur with 1,170 cases (RM36.47 million) and Johor recording 1,443 cases (RM27.31 million).

“Job scams typically involve part-time job offers, but victims are asked to make an advance payment or ‘top-up’ supposedly to receive a commission, only to be deceived without receiving any return.

“These syndicates use various social media platforms and messaging applications to deceive victims, and the police take this activity seriously and will take stern action against individuals or groups involved,” he told Bernama.

Rusdi said that in terms of age demographics, the group aged 21 to 30 recorded the highest number of victims in 2025, with 3,006 people, followed by those aged 31 to 40 (2,665), 41 to 50 (1,489), 15 to 20 (711), 51 to 60 (700), and 61 and above (357).

“For the period from Jan 1 to March 15, the age group of 31 to 40 years recorded the highest number of victims, with 435 cases, followed by the 21 to 30 years group (388), 41 to 50 years (289), 15 to 20 years (108), 51 to 60 years (100), and 61 years and above (56).”

Commenting further, he said that women comprise most of the victims, with 6,734 people in 2025 compared to 2,194 men, whereas in the early period of 2026, 930 women were recorded compared to 446 men. During that period, private sector workers were identified as the largest group of victims ensnared in online job offer fraud syndicates, involving 4,951 individuals consisting of 1,497 men and 3,454 women, he said.

According to him, the unemployed group forms the second-highest group of victims, with 2,523 people, consisting of 2,207 women and 316 men, followed by the student group with 864 people.

“Civil servants also recorded 717 victims, followed by retirees (320 people), business people (370), teachers (245), private clerks (244), government clerks (62), and the security sector (eight victims).

“This trend shows that syndicates are targeting the actively working population, especially in the private sector, with online job offers that promise high returns in a short period,” he said.

He also advised the public to be vigilant and not be easily deceived by online job offers, especially those that require an advance payment or initial investment. — Bernama