Muslims have been urged to exercise tabayyun, the practice of verifying and investigating, before committing to haj packages that appear dubious, in a bid to avoid falling victim to scams.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Na’im Mokhtar said fraudulent haj packages continue to surface every year, with scammers increasingly exploiting celebrity endorsements to lure in unsuspecting pilgrims.

“With the first group of Malaysian pilgrims...