BUKIT MERTAJAM – DAP and PKR leaders here have come together to urge banks to refund monies lost by their depositors through online scams following an alarming rise of such white-collar crimes.
Despite Bank Negara Malaysia’s announcement of measures to stem the tide of online scams today, Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim Chee Keong said the onus was on commercial banks to compensate their clientele who were scammed through sophisticated means, via the hacking of the banking security online system.
Although there is no official data released with regards to scamming, Sim said a recent news report indicated that between 2020 and May 2022, almost 72,000 scam cases of online fraud were detected, contributing losses of up to RM5.2 billion to bank customers.
“In other words, in Malaysia, there are 80 daily cases of fraud with losses of RM6 million.
“We need to do something profound on this matter,” he said in a statement.
The process to refund bank customers, he said, must also be hastened as at times it drags onto to months and years with many instances of banks neglecting their responsibilities.
He further said the banks should not take the easy way out while the insurers of savings deposits should also be updated with measures to fight online fraud, where there is theft of bank deposits or current accounts.
Meanwhile, Penang PKR has formed a legal committee to help scam victims seek the return of their monies.
Its legal bureau head Jason Ong Khan Lee said that the party will also introduce an educational programme to raise awareness to fight scams.
Earlier, it was reported that online scam cases are on an upward trend, according to police statistics.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani had said the cases involved online sales scams, online trading scams, African scams, Macau scams, business email compromised scams, fake loans and SMS scams.
In 2019, there were 13,703 scam cases reported, involving losses of RM539 million.
It increased to 17,227 cases the following year, with RM511.2 million in losses recorded.
“Last year, there were 20,701 scam cases registered with losses amounting to RM560.8 million.
“Between January and July this year alone, 12,092 cases were reported with losses of RM414.8 million,” he said.
Acryl also said 33,147 online crime suspects were detained, while 22,196 were brought to court to be charged between 2019 to July this year.
Those looking to report online scams can contact the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) Infoline via Whatsapp at 013-211-1222.
Victims may also call the CCID Scam Response Centre between 8am and 10pm at 03-2610-1559 or 03-2610-1599. – The Vibes, September 26, 2022.
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