Compiled by C. ARUNO and RAGANANTHINI VETHASALAM
SCAMMERS were given one month’s “professional” training and even sat for “exams” before being certified competent enough to be sent out to the field, Sin Chew Daily reported.
According to the Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department, Macau scam call centres now hire trainers to equip recruits with the necessary skills to carry out their con job.
During the month-long boot camp, the recruits would go through role playing – one would be the “victim” while the other acted as the scam caller.
They would be trained to impersonate employees from government departments.
Police have received 1,381 complaints about Macau scams involving RM76.78mil in losses between January and April, according to earlier news reports.
About half of these cases involved scammers impersonating officers from the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN).
Losses resulting from scammers making use of LHDN’s name were the highest in Selangor, amounting to RM12.19mil (88 cases), followed by another 88 cases in Negri Sembilan with losses of RM3.52mil.
> A woman in Malaysia, who bought an antique wooden table and chair online, was dismayed to find out that they were actually toy furniture, the daily also reported.
“It was my mother’s first time buying furniture online. It was so cheap,” an Internet user posted on TikTok about his mother’s unfortunate purchase.
“But when they were delivered, she found out that they were only as big as her palm!” he said.
In the video he had posted, the man kept picking up the toy chair and table and having a good laugh over it.
Internet users were amused by the story, with some commenting that the mother’s mistake was “adorable”.
“Aunty won’t dare to buy things online anymore,” one quipped.
> A traffic police officer was injured after the motorbike he was riding was knocked down by a wild boar while he was on patrol in Pekan, Pahang, reported China Press.
Photos of the incident, which is believed to have taken place at Jalan Serambi recently, were widely shared online.
A uniformed police officer can be seen lying by the side of the road with his pants torn in multiple places.
According to the uploader, the wild boar came out from the bushes and attempted to cross the road but ended up ramming into the patrolling officer.
The officer’s motorcycle and the boar were seen lying by the side of the road in the photos.
According to the uploader, the police officer was later sent to hospital for treatment.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.