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This is how the scam works:
Some street boy will come up and give you a coupon to scratch. If you
win the prize (oh you are always so lucky), they will ask you to redeem
it at their office.
When you visit their office, the scammers will tell you to buy 7,000RM
(US$2,000) of products to claim the prize of 150,000RM (US$43,000).
The report mentioned that the products were not even worth 1,500RM (US$430). Here is the picture of Malaysia’s Crime Prevention Squad members holding the scammer’s coupon. These guys have been daring and efficient in carrying out their duties and catching the scam operators. (applauds) (Warning: If you are not a professional, don’t try it!!)
The Chief of the squad was reportedly threatened by the scam operators
after they reported the case to the police. Well, I hope that the scam
operators get double sentences for the scam + threatening act.
“Scratch and Win” scams are not really new, but they appear once in a while when you are least expected. In the past, some companies used similar scheme to trick people on the street to attend one-hour “marketing talk”, before they can claim some free prizes.
In most cases, they were told that they can only get the free prizes only if they buy or sign-up for something much more expensive (e.g. tour or vacation packages). While some people simply walked away from the scam without buying the expensive packages, there are some who simply gave in to the relentless marketing attack.
