Of 1,000 people interviewed in a survey from Nov 29 to 30, Ipsos found that a total of 762 reported encountering a scam at some point.

Of those who admitted to having been duped, 56% fell for promises made on phone calls, while 54% fell prey to scammers via WhatsApp.

The damage is extensive and amounts to more than billions of ringgit, according to various reports.

Just over a week ago, Bukit Aman reported that more than 30,000 cases of online fraud were reported up until November this year, with losses amounting to RM1.3 billion.

Victims were most easily conned into putting their money into non-existent investment schemes. In the same period, they invested and lost a total of RM421 million to such schemes.

Social media is also a favourite mode for scammers to get to their victims’ purses.

A total of 31% of those who had been scammed reportedly fell for promises received on their Facebook accounts, while another 30% had their first encounters with scammers on Telegram.

Even friends and family were not always trustworthy, with about 7% of those who reported having been scammed losing their money to or through such groups.

The average loss suffered by victims varied from RM1,000 to RM5,000 each, depending on the type of scam.

The Ipsos survey showed that those who fell for investment scams lost an average of RM5,000 while those who fell for street hustles or promises of love and marriage ended up about RM1,000 poorer.

The survey also showed that a large majority of those who lost their money through scams have taken action.

Just about half of them have reported their loss to the authorities, most of them to the police, while a large portion preferred to go to their banks or seek help from family and friends.

Others posted their unpleasant experience on social media, filed complaints with consumer protection bodies or consulted a lawyer.

Only about 12% opted against taking any action.