Bogus loan agencies now 'charging' victims SST
Published on: Friday, September 07, 2018
Kuala Lumpur: It's bad enough that bogus loan agencies are scamming victims of thousands of ringgit, but they are now "charging" Sales and Services Tax (SST) on loans. MCA public services and complaints department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong exposed this latest scam during a press conference (pic) on Thursday (Sept 6). He said that a 49-year-old businessman, known only as Loo, was duped into paying RM22,700 as a deposit to obtain approval for a RM25,000 loan from a commercial bank. ADVERTISEMENT A conman, who claimed to be from a company called GT Credit, told Loo the refundable deposit included administration fees, credit source fees and RM2,000 in SST. After paying the initial deposit, the company claimed Loo's RM40,000 loan had been approved, but demanded payment for "additional SST charges for Bank Negara Malaysia" before the money could be released. Chong said Loo came across the loan agency advertising low rates on Facebook and made enquires. He said Loo presumed it would be better to borrow from the loan agency rather than loan sharks, but he ironically ended up borrowing RM27,500 from seven loan sharks to pay the deposit and secure the loan instead. Chong said the bogus loan agency managed to convince Loo using photos of a faked cheque and approval letter from Bank Negara. ADVERTISEMENT Chong said the agency "approved" Loo's loan via WhatsApp and never asked to meet Loo nor ask him to sign any documents. "It defies logic when you can get a loan without signing any documents," Chong said. He added that this the ninth case of people falling victim to money scams that he had received this year, with the amount of money totalling RM499,200.
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"In all nine cases, the victims said they had never met anyone from the company, never signed any documents or agreements, and did not receive a single sen," he said. He advised potential borrowers to go to licensed agents that provide proper consultation and documentation. Loo has lodged a report at the Puchong police department.