by HIDAYATH HISHAM

MALAYSIA lost RM1.22 billion to online scams from January to October 2024.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the figure includes various fraudulent schemes, such as telecommunications fraud, e-commerce scams, non-existent loans, love scams and fake investments.

He was replying to Suhaizam Kaiat (Pakatan Harapan-Pulai) regarding Malaysia’s losses due to online scams and the steps to combat such crimes in the Dewan Rakyat today.  

Anwar attributed some success in combating such crimes to “Op Vulture”, an operation led by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) that resulted in 361 arrests between Nov 4 and 12 this year. 

The arrested individuals included unlicensed moneylenders or “Ah Longs”.  

“The 361 arrests mentioned are linked to the success of Op Vulture, a coordinated operation conducted by the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (JSJK) of PDRM nationwide,” he said.  

The government has also been utilising the Semak Mule portal to help the public verify suspicious bank accounts.  

“As of Oct 31, 2024, a total of 181,628 phone numbers, 222,092 bank account numbers, and 1,395 company names have been recorded in Semak Mule, involving online crime-related fraud,” he said.  

Anwar mentioned that RM19 billion in fraudulent transactions were blocked this year through collaborative efforts involving Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the National Anti-financial Crime Prevention Centre (NFCC). 

To strengthen enforcement, amendments to Section 116D of the Criminal Procedure Code were gazetted on Oct 30, 2024.  

“Legal amendments involving Section 116D, which grant police officers of at least sergeant rank the authority to freeze and seize accounts linked to financial fraud, were gazetted on Oct 30,” he added.