Report: Online shoppers hit by increasing number of parcel scams, more than 3,500 cases in Q1 2025

The Star

a day ago

For COD scams, Faris explained that perpetrators often pose as delivery personnel and persuade victims to pay for a parcel by claiming it was ordered by their pouse or another family member. — Freepik
PETALING JAYA: Online shoppers are urged to stay vigilant as Ninja Van Malaysia said it has received over 3,500 parcel scam reports in the first quarter of 2025 – the highest number recorded by the company compared to any previous quarter.
In 2024, the company recorded more than 17,000 parcel scam cases with 40% of incidents concentrated in the Klang Valley. The majority of such cases involve cash-on-delivery (COD) schemes, where consumers end up paying for items they never ordered.
Other common tactics include "ghost scams", in which victims are tricked into purchasing non-existent products or services advertised online, and phishing attempts via text messages or SMS where the sender impersonated the company.
"At Ninja Van Malaysia, our responsibilities go beyond logistics. As a key player in the industry, we have a duty to educate the public against the rising scam threats," said chief executive officer Lin Zheng in a ScamMinar panel discussion held today (June 12).
Chief sales officer Faris Maswan said victims were mostly from the older generation, who got duped into purchasing items like herbal products and amulets that were promoted on social media. They either end up not receiving the item at all or received products that were different from what was advertised.
It's always a case of items being offered at a price that is just too good to be true, he said, adding that victims could end up losing up to RM1,000 in some cases.
"Most of the time, it hovers around RM200," he added.
For COD scams, Faris explained that perpetrators often pose as delivery personnel and persuade victims to pay for a parcel by claiming it was ordered by the victim's spouse or another family member.
"Scammers would exploit the sense of familiarity that victims have for the person they think the parcel is for," said Raymon Ram, a fraud risk management specialist and president of NGO Transparency International-Malaysia.
Faris explained that in phishing cases, victims would receive an SMS claiming they had an undelivered Ninja Van parcel: "Victims are then directed to a fraudulent website designed to steal money from their bank accounts."
When these incidents were reported, Faris said an internal investigation was launched to determine whether there had been a data breach involving its customers.
"Our infosec team found out that scammers were obtaining personal data from a website hosting leaked information from various sources. We also found that customers of other courier services were targeted by similar scams," he said.
Raymon added that scammers can obtain users' personal data from forums on the dark web and use the information to carry out various schemes.
"The newly enforced Cyber Security Act 2024 requires organisations in critical sectors to report any breaches to the National Cyber Security Agency. We'll have to see what kind of impact this will have. I hope companies will start taking cybersecurity more seriously," he said.
Faris said cases would also be investigated based on customer service complaint rate.
"If it's a critical case with directive from the authorities, we would block accounts (on their platform related to fraudulent complaints). In the last quarter, we have blocked more accounts than before," Faris said, adding that he also urged victims to come forward and make reports to the right channels as part of a measure to protect other users.
The Selangor deputy head of Commercial Crime Investigation Department (Intelligence/Operation) Yap Huat Tian said it's also crucial for more people to be vigilant about their online safety and privacy.
Don't assume that it's only older generation that can get scammed. As long as you have a smartphone, you can be a victim, he said.