SCAMMERS have been proliferating on the Kita Jaga Malaysia (kitajaga.co) website, taking advantage of kind people helping those who have fallen on hard times due the Covid-19 pandemic.

The platform, which started on July 5, was built by Reza Razali’s Terato Tech. It was to highlight the white flag initiative, which urged people in need to raise a white flag to alert others so that aid can be provided.

“We have received reports that there are scammers on the platform and they all have the same story and modus operandi. They always ask for cash and never for food aid,” Reza told The Malaysian Insight.

He said his team has so far identified 70 phone numbers of potential scammers because the same number is used multiple times to ask for help.

“To ensure that those who are helping do not get scammed, we have implemented several security features. Now, one phone number can only put up one flag a day. We have also started to indicate if the same number has been used numerous times to ask for help.”

There are currently 85,000 white flags on the platform with some 40,000 people offering to help.

“A large number of flags are in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. On a daily basis, we get an average of 5,000 flags.”

A check by The Malaysian Insight also found that some individuals in the platform have used the same phone number to ask for help up to 13 times.

One individual who only called herself Farhana said she needed food aid, pampers and some cash. Her number was used 13 times to ask for help.

Another individual named Nurul said she needed cash aid to pay rent. Her number had been used seven times on the platform to ask for help.

MN, another individual on the platform indicated that they needed cash aid to pay rent as they were involved in an accident. This individual has even included their bank account details in the call for help. The same number used by MN has been used nine other times to ask for help.

Reza said his team is looking to roll out a new interface to help non-profit groups to verify and validate those who are in need.

“We have a lot of communities across the country that are using the platform. They said that something like this would be helpful because they also have limited resources to assist everyone but the least they can do is provide validation,” he said.

“This is also a security feature so that people don’t get scammed.”

Wrong location

The Malaysian Insight’s check on the platform also found that a large number of people who have indicated that they need help have tagged themselves in the wrong location.

An overwhelming number of these indicated their location as Putrajaya, Malaysia’s administrative capital, but in reality they are in Sabah, Kedah, Kelantan, Negri Sembilan and Johor.

When these individuals were told that they had indicated the wrong location, they seemed shocked.

“Putrajaya is the default location on the map of the platform. So, if you don’t have your location enabled on your phone, it will only show Putrajaya (not where you actually are).

“We are trying to mitigate this issue and enable people to verify which state and city they are in before they want to submit something,” Reza said, adding that in a lot of these cases, the people are not tech savvy.

Kita Jaga Malaysia has also recently launched a mobile app to provide better user experience to those on the platform.

“The iOS app is already available on the Apple store while the Android version will be out by the end of the week or next week. The app has a better user experience and is a lot faster than the web version.”

When asked what he thought about Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s comment that there was no need to raise the white flag as the government is providing sufficient help, Reza said that the fact is not everyone qualifies for government aid.

“I’m sure the government wants to help but some people need help immediately and they can’t wait. Those on the platform are desperate for help.

“Many of them also do not qualify for government aid. There are many Indonesian workers in areas such as Cyberjaya and Putrajaya on the platform as well, it’s not just Malaysians.” – August 1, 2021.