Malaysians Urged To Stay Alert To Phishing Scams, Fake Online Promotions Ahead Of Deepavali

By K. Naveen Prabu

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 (Bernama) -- Malaysians are urged to be vigilant against phishing messages, fake websites and fraudulent online promotions ahead of Deepavali, as scammers seek to exploit increased online shopping and digital transactions during the festive season.

ManageEngine Regional Vice President for Asia-Pacific Arun Kumar said festive periods provide scammers with more opportunities as consumers spend more, make frequent transactions and receive a higher volume of promotional messages and delivery notifications.

“Scammers plan their campaigns around these peak periods by copying the language used by legitimate businesses during festive sales, including limited-time offers, flash discounts and last-minute delivery slots, to pressure people into acting quickly without checking.

“Many Malaysians also travel during this period and are more likely to respond to messages while on the move without verifying their authenticity first,” he told Bernama in an exclusive interview. 

Arun said consumers should also be cautious of messages and calls from individuals claiming to represent banks, courier companies or government agencies, particularly those requesting urgent money transfers.

“Most of these scams rely on persuading the victim to take action rather than on breaking into a system, which is why public awareness is so important during this period,” he said. 

According to Arun, common scams during festive periods include fake online shopping advertisements offering heavily discounted clothing, jewellery, electronics and travel packages, as well as fraudulent parcel delivery notifications requesting small redelivery fees.

He said CyberSecurity Malaysia's incident report showed that phishing accounted for 90.6 per cent of fraud cases handled by Cyber999 in the first quarter of 2026.

“The reported tactics included fake Lazada and Shopee promotions, fraudulent courier messages and malicious applications disguised as bargain-shopping and food-ordering services.

“We expect similar scams to emerge ahead of Deepavali and during the festive period, with scammers incorporating festive promotions and offers to make their messages appear more convincing,” he said. 

On how consumers can identify potential scams, Arun said urgency is one of the clearest warning signs.

“Legitimate businesses rarely ask customers to act within minutes, and banks do not threaten to immediately close an account if a link is not clicked,” he said.

Arun added that consumers who suspect they have fallen victim to a scam should contact their banks and the National Scam Response Centre at 997 immediately.

He also advised consumers using online banking and e-wallets to set daily transaction limits, activate real-time transaction notifications and use security features such as account freeze functions where available.

--BERNAMA