KUALA LUMPUR – More than RM850 million were lost to online scams in 2022, even though the number of reported cases saw a slight drop compared to 2021.
According to statistics by the Commercial Crime Investigation Department, the total loss recorded last year amounted to RM850,846,659.24 as compared to RM700,015,419.49 in 2021, as well as RM658,657,580.59 in 2020.
There were a total of 25,480 reports on online scams last year compared to 26,297 in 2021, and 21,497 cases in 2020, said law minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said (Pengerang-BN) in a written parliamentary reply.
This was in response to Fong Kui Lun (Bukit Bintang-PH) who asked about actions taken by the government in combating online scams.
Azalina said continuous collaboration with local banks has resulted in the introduction of the “kill switch” for any suspicious banking transactions.
She added that the government and police have a platform to receive and share information related to scammers with other agencies as part of the planning for joint operations.
She also gave the example of the setting up of the National Scam Response Centre that brings together expertise of police, Bank Negara, the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission, and the National Anti-Financial Crime Centre.
“Anti-scam campaigns by government agencies is one of the planned programmes to help spread public awareness on how scammers operate. This is so the public can avoid falling victim to scams.”
Yesterday, Azalina’s deputy Ramkarpal Singh told Dewan Negara that the government is studying several provisions in the law that could be used or amended to allow refunds to victims of online scams.
He added that 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. – The Vibes, March 23, 2023
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