The Ministry of Communications and Digital is currently in discussions with the Prime Minister’s Department (PMD) to prepare a Cabinet Memorandum aimed at establishing the National Anti-Scam Task Force within Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) in order to combat online scams.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil stated that his ministry engaged with PMD because the responsible agency for this matter is the National Anti-Financial Crime Centre (NFCC), which falls under PMD’s jurisdiction.
Fahmi emphasised that this initiative is part of a broader effort to counter the increasing prevalence of commercial fraud driven by advancements in digital technology and to confront scammers effectively, according to Bernama’s news report.
He said, “As far as the government is concerned, we are looking into what other ways we can do, other things we can do to reduce the amount of online fraud.”
Fahmi also disclosed that the government, in collaboration with telecommunications service providers, has already taken significant action by blocking more than two billion suspicious calls and over 500 million suspicious short messaging services, all of which were intended to reach Malaysian consumers, to address the issue of online scams.
He further explained that one of the primary causes of online scams is data leakage, wherein scammers exploit consumer data to deceive individuals.
According to Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay, statistics from the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) reveal that over 50% of recorded cases annually involve online fraud.
Additionally, Fahmi announced that the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) and the Association of Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM) will launch an awareness campaign next month to educate the public about online scams.
Besides that, BNM is also collaborating with Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd (PayNet) and the financial industry, on the development of the National Fraud Portal.
This portal is expected to be operational by the middle of the next year. The primary goal of the portal is to automate and enhance the ability to track fund movements and identify money mules involved in financial scams.
