Love scams, phone scams, job scams and what not are happening all around us and are nothing new, but why are there still so many people who fall prey to them?

Already in the third decade of the 21st century, job scams are still happening today! To make things more intriguing, the victims are not swindled into working at orchards in highly popular destinations like Australia, Europe, the US or other developed countries, but in places with significantly lower per capita incomes than Malaysia such as Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand.

The first batch of 16 job scam victims rescued from Cambodia are aged between 19 and 43. By right, these people should have independent thinking and judgement ability and should not have fallen into the traps set up by the scammers!

Bukit Aman CID director Abdul Jalil Hassan said there are currently still 45 Malaysians duped into engaging in illegal activities in several countries awaiting rescue.

We have no idea exactly how many more people have been duped by fake job offers. The actual number could be a whole lot higher than what comes to the police’s knowledge.

Members of the public who have relatives scammed and stranded overseas should therefore report to the police or seek assistance from political parties immediately.

Why have these people been cheated? None of the first batch of 16 rescued victims was willing to talk to the media, although one of them said something like this: If possible, go there yourself and you will understand how we feel.

We can understand how they feel, but as ordinary people like those in the media are less susceptible to fake job offers, we have no way to “feel what they feel”!

MCA Youth chairman Nicole Wong said the victims, enticed by the attractive remunerations, thought they were offered oversea jobs on valid visas, but only found themselves deceived upon arrival at their destinations.

Love scams, phone scams, job scams and what not are happening all around us and are nothing new, but why are there still so many people who fall prey to them?

Firstly, poor information flow: But wait, this doesn’t make sense! We are already in the age of 5G where newspapers, Internet and all sorts of information sources are readily available. But in reality, there are people who don’t read newspapers, and take pride in not doing so! They also don’t bother much about serious news on the net as they think they don’t have enough time for games.

In a recent random street survey conducted by Sin Chew Daily, we are shocked to find that there are people who have no idea who our current prime minister is. The war between Russia and Ukraine? Never heard of!

Well, these people are seriously dislodged from global realities and lack the basic common sense, making them easy targets of wicked scammers. Even well educated women can get tricked by foreign romance scammers in the guise of a multi-millionaire, army general, senior government official or corporate tycoon…

Secondly, greed: We have been told time and again that there’s no free lunch in this world. Who among decent foreign companies will ever offer you a thick salary if you don’t have relevant work experiences, professional skills and foreign language competency?

Because of greed, people think they shouldn’t miss any opportunity to make some quick bucks while still young. This is how they get scammed!

Thirdly, lack of common sense: This time, the companies involved are set up in Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, countries with far lower per capita GDP than Malaysia’s US$10,195 in 2020.

How on earth could a company in Cambodia or Myanmar offer you $2,000 a month which is about 15 to 18 times the local people’s salaries?

Finally, expand your social circles: Is it possible to earn quick money working overseas? Ask your family, friends or anyone older, and you will get an instant answer. Take their advice seriously if you don’t want to end up being a victim of job scams. Besides, start the habit of reading newspapers, which carry news of omnipresent scams in details.

Wealthy middle-age romance scam victims are very generous with their handouts, often to the tunes of millions. If you ask them, “Don’t you read newspapers? Don’t you know these are the tricks of illegal syndicates?” they will simply answer, “I don’t read newspapers. All I knew was to remit the money. I believed he would come to me one day!”

If you still believe there is love in a faraway land, then keep waiting till kingdom come!