Sell or give away second-hand things in Penang, safely

The short version

Online classifieds such as Mudah.my have a Penang section with categories for furniture and home appliances.
Check before you deal. PDRM's Semak Mule portal, semakmule.rmp.gov.my, lets you check whether a bank account, phone number or company name has been linked to financial fraud.
Never share an OTP, TAC, PIN or password. The government's scam centre says the police, banks and the centre itself will never ask for them.
If money goes missing, call your bank's 24-hour hotline or the National Scam Response Centre on 997 at once. See Scams in Penang.
Giving it away instead? See Donate clothes and household items.

Why to be careful

Penang police recorded 7,852 cases of online fraud from 2022 to 2024, with losses of RM312.86 million, Bernama reported in February 2025. E-commerce fraud was the second largest group: 2,204 cases with losses of RM34.3 million.

Source: theSun (Bernama), 20 February 2025, read 2026-10-14.

Where to list things

Mudah.my's Penang page lists items for sale across the state. Its categories include Furniture & Decoration, Home Appliances & Kitchen, Mobile Phones & Gadgets, Computers & Accessories, and Items for Swap.

Source: Mudah.my, for sale in Penang, read 2026-10-14.

Check the other person first

In October 2025, the director of PDRM's Commercial Crime Investigation Department (JSJK) said the Semak Mule portal was built to help the public check bank accounts, phone numbers and company names suspected of being involved in financial crimes. It had over 37 million visitors since its launch in October 2020.

The database held 299,531 bank accounts, 233,568 phone numbers and 7,867 company names linked to commercial crimes at the time. He said the portal works with e-commerce platforms including Mudah.my.

Source: The Vibes, 30 October 2025, read 2026-10-14.

Never share these

The National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) FAQ says the NSRC, PDRM, MCMC, Bank Negara Malaysia and banks will not ask for your personal banking information, such as your username, password, PIN, TAC or OTP. Anyone who asks for one of these to "send you payment" is not a real buyer.

Source: NFCC, NSRC FAQ, read 2026-10-14.

Small amounts of cash for scrap and recyclables

MBPP's Trash for Cash Hub 3R at Taman Serina, Sungai Pinang, bought used cooking oil at RM3 per kg in August 2026 and collected recyclables, textiles and e-waste. See Recycling in Penang.

Source: The Star, 25 September 2026, read 2026-10-14.

What sells

Mudah.my listings show asking prices, not what items actually sell for in Penang. A George Town thrift shop worker told The Star in September 2026 that there was strong demand for wearable clothing. That tells you what people want to use, not what they will pay.

Source: The Star, 9 September 2026, read 2026-10-14.