Dollah scored A+ in his exam and his mother wanted to reward him with a new smartphone.
LET’S BEGINDollah decided to buy the Hex 5.0 smartphone worth RM3,500 in stores. He decided to browse the online shopping app, Hex Shop, to look for his phone.
Most of the sellers on Hex Shop were selling the phone for RM3,500 but Dollah saw one seller selling the phone for just RM1,500.
"Wow, what a great deal!", Dollah thought to himself. He could get the phone of his dreams and also save his mother a lot of money.
Dollah excitedly told his mother the great deal he found and asked her for her credit card to make the payment.
2 weeks later, Dollah received a package. "Finally! That must be my new phone!" Dollah excitedly opened the package.
When Dollah opened the package, there was nothing in the box! Dollah felt very angry and immediately called the seller. However, the telephone operator informed Dollah that the phone number is not valid.
Dollah didn’t know what to do. He informed his mother about this incident.
Dollah’s mother advised Dollah to reflect on his shopping experience and take this as a lesson to be more careful next time in his online shopping.
Now that you have read Dollah’s story, it’s time for discussion!
Here are some questions you can think about. Discuss your answers with your parents.
Question 1:
If you were Dollah, how would you feel?
Question 2:
What could Dollah have done before he makes his purchase?
Question 3:
Now that Dollah has been cheated, what would you recommend Dollah to do?
Well done! You’ve earned yourself a badge. Keep playing to earn more badges.
Lesson
The story of Dollah being cheated online is an example of a scam. Have you heard of the following words?
A scam refers to a method in which a person tricks other people to get what they want. In our story, Dollah experienced what we call an online shopping scam.
A bad person who wants to steal your money or personal information.
A person who may lose a lot of their money, or even go to prison if their name or identity was used for crime.
Lesson
What are the common ways used by the scammers to get your money? They will normally:
To get a parcel you never ordered.
To receive the prize of a competition you have never joined.
Examples of personal details are password, IC number, house address, date of birth.
Like “Give me RM200 or your personal details today and I will give you RM2,000 in 2 days”.
Lesson
Whenever anybody (even your best friend) asks for your personal information or money, be careful! Make sure you know why they need it before you give them your information or money. In addition, don’t allow your bank account to be used to receive money on behalf of others.
Lesson
Therefore, if you ever encounter any of the situations which has 2 or 3 of the characteristics mentioned previously, you should:
NEVER give out your personal details
NEVER transfer money to them
Lesson
If you ever feel like you are being scammed, you should:
Keep calm at all times
Inform your parents and ask them to report to the police
Call your bank and let them know if you have shared some personal details about your bank account
Besides online shopping scams, there are many different types of scams out there.
One of the most common type of scam targeting youngsters in Malaysia is mule account scam. A stranger may offer you money to open a bank account.
Once the account is opened, the person will ask for your bank account, PIN number and ATM card, before giving you the money. While you enjoy the money you received, your account is being used by the scammer to perform illegal transactions under your name, without you realising it.
Ultimately, you could be fined or arrested for having illegal transactions performed under your name.
Knowledge is power. Which means that you must have superpowers by now!
Now that you have learnt about scams and how to protect yourself, let’s apply them in some activities!
In this activity, you will need to identify all of the traits that you can find in the scams based on the photos.
Scam 1:
Click on the areas of the photo where there are traits of a scam.
0/3 traits spotted
Scammers would usually put less effort in their advertisements, which often results in cluttered and rather unappealing images.
The logo or brand looks inconsistent in the advertisement, which may be a sign that it is an unofficial company.
When someone promises really high returns in such a short time, it is very unlikely to be true.
Great job on spotting all of the traits!
There are still some traits that have yet to be spotted.
Keep finding!
Scam 2:
Click on the areas of the photo where there are traits of a scam.
0/3 traits spotted
If you get to this page
congratulations, make sure you apply for this HP laptops giveaway, please don’t ignore, its very real.
Hp laptop is here to bless thousands of people...
First 20,000 people from this group to type “WIN” letter by leter without being interrupted by another competitor will get brand new H p laptop
See example below:
W
I
N
If you google and check, the official brand is spelled “HP” instead of “Hpp” or “H P”. Actual companies will make sure that they use the correct name.
There are multiple spelling and grammatical errors, which is a common sign of scams.
If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Great job on spotting all of the traits!
There are still some traits that have yet to be spotted.
Keep finding!
Spot the Warning Signal
Extra things to watch out for in scams:
There is an urgency to transfer your money (You must transfer your money in one hour, two hours or even within a few minutes)
Official authorities like the police officers or banks do not use personal mobile numbers to contact you
The caller pointed out something that you have not done before (You have won a competition you have never participated in the first place)
Wow! Those are some
sharp eyes that you have there.
In this activity, you will need to match the scenarios with the correct types of scams.
Scenario 1:
Dollah was browsing the Internet. Suddenly, an advertisement popped up congratulating Dollah for being the 100th visitor to a certain website today. They decided to award Dollah with a new Hex Phone or Hex Tablet. However, Dollah has to pay RM30 shipping fee in order to get the prize.
Scenario 2:
Dollah was looking for a work-at-home job when he came across an advertisement promising good returns. Dollah messaged the recruiter to ask about the job. The recruiter mentioned that Dollah’s job is to open a bank account under Dollah’s name. Dollah will be paid for opening his account where by Dollah will have to provide the recruiter with his PIN account, bank number and ATM card.
Scenario 3:
Dollah has received an email stating that he has won the prestigious Hex scholarship to enter into Hex University. However, in order to accept this scholarship, Dollah has to provide his bank details and pay a small application fee of RM300. Dollah has never applied for Hex scholarship.
Scenario 4:
Dollah was stopped at Hex Mall by a lady claimed to be a “talent scout”. She said that Dollah has the potential to be a model and hands him a business card. However, Dollah has to pay RM1,000 for headshots and modelling lessons upfront.
Superb work!
You sure do know a lot
about scams.
You’ve completed all activities!
Give yourself a pat on the back.