PETALING JAYA: Fraudulent property rental cases involving identity theft have spiked drastically – from merely 184 cases in 2023 to over 900 last year, a jump of over 400% in only three years. “They avoid physical meetings or property viewings, using various excuses,” said Comm Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa (pic) in an interview. The Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department’s (CCID) director warned that syndicates are exploiting the emergence of various social media platforms and new applications due to their wide reach, low costs and difficulty in tracking. “We have also detected a trend of rapid digital identity changes among scammers, including switching phone numbers and bank accounts, using temporary social media accounts and rotating mule accounts to avoid detection,” he lamented. Losses from fraudulent rental cases have spiked since 2023, particularly last year, he said.

Source: The Star January 12, 2026 06:15 UTC