Bukit Aman commercial crime investigation department director Ramli Yoosuf said this was one of the methods detected by his department, reported Sinar Harian.
“The suspects are using images of (religious) icons, Islamic preachers and celebrities in their ads and offering umrah packages at lower prices compared to those from licensed agencies,” he said.
He said police have detected umrah operators using the funds of current pilgrims to cover the costs for previous groups of pilgrims.
Some people have also been found to have been illegally collecting payments for umrah packages by posing as representatives of well-known travel companies
Ramli said the main cause of the reported cases was the eagerness of victims to go on umrah after being deceived by the low-priced packages.
“For example, there was an ad for a complete umrah package priced at RM4,500, which is impossible considering that the cost of the flight ticket alone is already RM4,000, excluding meals, hotel, equipment, and transportation costs,” he said.
He said the public is advised to be sceptical and not be deceived by excessively cheap umrah package offers and warned them against purchasing packages from unregistered companies.
The public should check with the tourism, arts and culture ministry before purchasing any umrah packages as the ministry issues licences to umrah operators.
More than RM700,000 in losses due to umrah fraud cases
Ramli said the 29 umrah fraud cases reported nationwide last year resulted in losses of RM708,109.
Selangor recorded the highest amount of losses with RM169,730, followed by Kuala Lumpur (RM134,000), Perak (RM85,770), Kedah (RM70,210) and Kelantan (RM49,312).
Cases were also reported in Melaka, Johor, Pahang, Sabah and Sarawak, with total losses reaching RM199,087.
On Thursday, police arrested six more people in connection with a travel agency accused of failing to fly out a group of umrah pilgrims on Tuesday.
A married couple was arrested on Wednesday after the complainant, a 39-year-old woman, reported losses amounting to RM11,000.