LETTER | I think too many retirees and older people with savings are getting scammed and cheated nowadays.

Despite warnings and advice from the authorities and publicity in the mass media, nothing seems able to prevent this scourge.

Can we do more on prevention than just accepting police reports and trying to catch the culprits after the money is gone? When the money is gone, it is usually too late.

I was thinking, maybe many Malaysians are too afraid of the police, IRB and MACC. They are either guilty conscious or just too afraid to face the authorities. 

Maybe the authorities were too harsh with the people in the past. Hence, most Malaysians would do whatever it takes to avoid being arrested or interrogated by them.

Be that as it may, I think something can be done even if it causes us a little inconvenience or imposes us additional efforts.

To begin with, I think enforcement agencies must try to change their image. 

They must tell the people they can’t lock up people in a dark room without reason. 

They must tell the people they can’t punish people without proper trial and conviction by a court of law. They must make people not to be afraid to go to them.

What about banks, can they do something to help? Do they have the means to identify suspected bank accounts used by the scammers to receive money from the victims?

What about taking an extra step to ask potential victims additional questions when they want to transfer money either over the counter or online.

Although this may be an invasion of privacy, I guess it is no harm for banks to ask their clients whether they have been asked to transfer money due to threats of arrest, investigation etc. 

This is especially so when the amount involved is unusually large. At the very least, this could have "alerted" the victims.

I believe something can be done to prevent or reduce the scourge. All we need is some extra effort from everyone. We may all suffer a little inconvenience, but I think it is worth it.

Sometimes we may think that the victims are too gullible, ignorant or greedy and therefore deserve no sympathy. But I think it is better for everyone to be careful. 

There is a Chinese saying – no matter how high a mountain, there is another one higher.

There was one occasion when I nearly fell victim when the caller told me he was from TM Malaysia and I have unpaid TM bills amounting to thousands of ringgits due to online gambling.

I just want to share that scams can take many forms, some of which are least expected. So be careful.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.