KUALA LUMPUR – The government is studying several provisions in the law that could be used or amended to allow refunds to victims of online scams, the Senate was told today.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Ramkarpal Singh said the laws being reviewed included the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, as well as the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code.
“Apart from that, the government has also and will implement measures to combat this crime by increasing efforts and cooperation with international authorities to ensure that further action can be taken against criminals who are abroad.
“Also, increasing the capabilities of the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) pertaining to operations, manpower resources, centralised data systems, office infrastructure facilities, technical equipment and financial analysis systems,” he added.
He was responding to a question from Senator Datuk Husain Awang during the oral question-and-answer session.
Husain wanted to know the measures taken by the government in dealing with the increasingly critical issue of online fraud.
Ramkarpal said through the operations of the NSRC, which combines the workforce and expertise of various agencies, including banking institutions and telecommunications companies, integrated enforcement actions could also be implemented.
“These include tracking suspicious financial transactions, tracking phone calls used by scammers, blocking the flow of proceeds (fraud) and cancelling phone numbers used by scammers,” he said. – Bernama, March 21, 2023
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