Mkini concludes anti-scam roadshow at seniors' congress

Malaysiakini’s scam awareness roadshow came to a close at the “Eat Well, Live Well” conference for senior citizens, in conjunction with Parents’ Day last weekend.

The conference, organised by Amazing Seniors, saw Kini News Lab team members speaking to senior citizens about ways to stay resilient against scams through a workshop and two talks at Atria Shopping Gallery, Petaling Jaya on June 8 and 9.

The event also featured a talk by a scam survivor, investment firm PhillipCapital and a presentation by Selangor contingent Commercial Crimes Investigations Department (CCID) senior investigation officer Vijayan Muneirtenam, as part of Malaysiakini’s partnership with mobile application Whoscall and police.

The police force maintains a database of phone numbers which are under investigation or have been reported to be used by scammers.

This database is shared with Whoscall, to allow the application’s users to screen calls to avoid being scammed.

“We thank MalaysIakini for inviting Whoscall to join this meaningful event,” said Man Yong, the country marketing lead for Whoscall owner, Gogolook.

Scammers target seniors

Kini News Lab members Nor Natasya Zaffri and Aidila Razak shared their findings about scams and took attendees through the Kini News Lab’s online scam simulator which allows users to pretend they are interacting with a scammer, to learn the tactics and red flags of a scam.

Senior citizens and shoppers also flocked to Kini News Lab’s booth at the conference to learn more about staying protected against scammers.

Other events held at the senior conference include a demonstration for healthy cooking supported by Massimo, exercise and fitness sessions like Zumba and pickleball and talks on other topics tailored to those aged 50 and above.

The “Eat Well, Live Well” conference was one of the stops for the Kini News Lab’s nationwide scam awareness roadshow which kicked off on Feb 25 and has reached at least 1,000 participants across Malaysia.

“We appreciate the space and time provided by Amazing Seniors to share awareness on this important topic, given how seniors are often a target of scams,” said Aidila, who is also Malaysiakini Special Reports editor.

Last year alone, at least RM1.3 billion was lost in about 30,000 online scam cases, she said, underscoring an urgent need to build greater consumer resilience against scams.

READ MORE: Can you escape online scams?

Bukit Aman yesterday also said there has been an uptick in the number of senior citizens reporting to be victims of scams in the last three years.

High demand for scam awareness programmes

The roadshow targeted three sets of demographics - youths who are the main targets of job scams and are often approached to be part of mule scams, working adults who are generally targets of investment, e-commerce and love scams, and senior citizens who are vulnerable to a variety of scams including scams where callers impersonate banks or authorities.

The team spoke on the topic at three technology and journalism events, operated booths, held workshops with students from five universities and organised a Youth Parliamentary Debathon on this topic with participants from across Malaysia.

Kini News Lab also collaborated with NGOs Hindu Sangam and Tzu Chi in Penang and Engage and Cornerstone International School in Johor, community group Rukun Tetangga Seksyen 17 Petaling Jaya, book store Bukutani in Alor Setar and the Kuala Lumpur Alternative Bookfest to hold talks and workshops about the topic.

Engage said it agreed to collaborate with the Kini News Lab to organise the workshop in Johor Bahru to because of the prevalence of scams.

“I, too, get calls daily,” said Engage’s chairperson Thomas Fann.

“At first, I entertained them because we are polite people, but after a few of these, the politeness goes out the window,” he told Sokong, who covered the event on June 1.

Bukit Aman CCID assistant director (strategic planning) Lai Lee Ching, superintendent Azlan Ahmad and inspector Wan Jinn Seong of the Johor contingent, and senior investigator ASP Devan Raman from the Penang contingent also participated in the various events.

The team also collaborated with Kota Kemuning assemblyperson Preakas Sampunathan, by setting up a booth at a health screening event at Taman Sri Muda organised by his team, while the workshops were also studied by researchers looking into the efficacy of scam awareness programmes.

More support needed

Aidila said that in almost all events held, participants had approached the team to ask if the Kini News Lab could organise similar workshops in their local communities or organisations, underscoring the demand for such programmes.

“As journalists and a small team of just four members, the Kini News Lab’s focus is to produce journalism, so we’re unable to hold as many workshops and talks on the topic as we would like.

“We hope to collaborate with organisations with more resources to continue spreading awareness on this issue,” she said.