Last week, authorities apprehended a 24-year-old man accused of hacking into a government agency system and attempting to sell stolen personal data on the dark web.
Ramli Yoosuf, the chief of the Bukit Aman commercial crime investigation department, disclosed that the suspect was arrested on Christmas Day and subsequently released on bail after four days, according to FMT.
According to Ramli, the illicitly obtained data sets were priced at USD200 (~RM928) each, with cryptocurrency designated as the method of payment.
The case is currently under investigation pursuant to Section 4(1) of the Computer Crimes Act 1997, specifically for unauthorised access with the intent to commit additional offenses.
In a separate announcement, Ramli revealed that the police initiated 40,350 investigation papers related to commercial crime cases in the past year, with losses estimated at around RM2.1 billion.
The majority of these cases, encompassing 36,030 instances, pertained to fraud. Additionally, the police probed 1,215 cases involving criminal breach of trust, 994 cases of illegal money lending, 970 cases of counterfeit money, and 867 cases of cybercrimes.
Highlighting the department’s efforts, Ramli mentioned that they conducted 18,221 operations and raids throughout 2023, resulting in the arrest of 22,911 individuals.
Given the surge in online crimes, Ramli stressed the importance of having Investigation Officers with computer expertise and a computing background.
Moreover, Ramli underscored the department’s commitment to preventive measures, including initiatives to raise public awareness about the risks of commercial crime and to safeguard individuals from falling victim to fraud.
