Fake MCs goes viral on sale for RM30 via Facebook

Fake MCs goes viral on sale for RM30 via Facebook

In keeping up with the trends of e-commerce, a syndicate is now giving customers the convenience of buying a medical certificate (MC) via social media for a hassle-free holiday.

The blatant advertisement of the counterfeit activity, which demands RM30 for an MC, delivered via PosLaju within a day, has gotten the Health Ministry fuming.

It called on employers who suspect their workers of taking sick leave using forged or bought MCs to lodge a police report and take internal action.

The syndicate, which is active on Facebook and said to have passed out calling cards to hundreds in the Klang Valley, advertises itself as being able to offer “a hassle-free longer weekend with your loved ones” by selling fake MCs.

Customers are asked to bank in the RM30 into an account, which is owned by a proxy, and then text to a mobile number with the required number of days and the preferred illness on the MC.

The syndicate claims that it maintains a high level of discretion.

“Don’t worry, we hide all our records so that if kena (get caught) also they can’t find our records and you will be safe. That’s why we only post. They won’t know which clinic and who is the buyer,” the syndicate said in a WhatsApp exchange with The Star.

The MC bought by The Star arrived by post and appears to have originated from a famous clinic in Subang Jaya – apparently signed by a doctor who has been verified to be working there.

However, Health deputy director-general (medical) Datuk Dr Jeyaindran Sinnadurai said most fake MCs may not even go through clinics but are convincingly fabricated by syndicates.

“They look bone fide. They have the serial number and the doctor’s name, but it can all be faked. Even my name has been used in a fake MC before.

“These might not come from real doctors but by syndicate members. When we check the serial numbers on the MCs we find they do not exist. Then this becomes out of the hands of the Malaysian Medical Council and we will have to lodge a police report,” he said.

Dr Jeyaindran also said the ministry would investigate the clinic named in the fake MC obtained by The Star.

Meanwhile, in a statement, the ministry called for complaints on such fake MC syndicates to be directed to ckaps.aduan@moh.gov.my, calling people who buy the documents as giving negative implications to the country’s productivity and integrity.

Source from: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2016/09/01/fake-mcs-go-for-rm30-on-facebook-ministry-sick-of-rings-offer/