KUALA LUMPUR: The National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) has successfully blocked RM19 billion from being transferred in online financial fraud cases and seized RM6 million to date, the Dewan Rakyat was told today. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim highlighted these achievements as part of NSRC’s collaborative efforts with the National Anti-Financial Crime Centre (NFCC), Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), and numerous financial institutions and the telecommunications industry.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, since its inception until October 2024, the NSRC has received a total of 140,474 calls, with 69,000 of these pertaining to financial fraud cases. Anwar Ibrahim provided these figures in response to a query from Suhaizan Kaiat (PH-Pulai) during Minister’s Question Time, where Suhaizan inquired about the government’s approach to reviewing money lending licenses under the Ministry of Housing and Local Government
(KPKT) and strategies to curtail scams and manipulations within banking administration.
Anwar stated that losses amounting to RM1.224 billion from January to October this year were attributed to online financial fraud, which includes online scams, telecommunications crimes, e-finance, love scams, e-commerce, non-existent loans, and fraudulent investments. He further elaborated that telecommunications companies have managed to block over 1.4 billion suspicious calls and 1.2 billion unsolicited SMS messages to protect individuals from fraud.
Moreover, the Ministry of Communications, through MCMC, has terminated 118,184 lines and blocked access to 9,474 fraudulent websites, as per the Prime Minister’s report. Anwar also expressed concern over data from the Semak Mule portal, revealing that as of October 31, a total of 181,628 phone numbers, 222,092 bank account numbers, and 1,395 company names were linked to online fraud cases. The portal recorded 32,066,000 searches, with 22,200,984 indicating positive respon
ses that thwarted fund transfers to mule accounts.
To further tackle online fraud, amendments to Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588) and the drafting of the Online Safety Act (ONSA) are underway alongside ongoing NSRC actions. In response to Suhaizan’s original question about the surge in unlicensed money-lending crimes, with 361 suspected cases detected over nine days starting November 4, Anwar stated that these numbers resulted from Op Vulture, an operation by the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) conducted nationwide from November 4 to 12.
He acknowledged the severity of the situation, citing ASEAN records that estimate the total value of scam crimes at US$64 billion. Anwar also mentioned raids on seven money-lending companies for violating Regulation 15A(b) of the Moneylenders (Control and Licensing) Regulations (Amendment) 2024, noting that these companies complicated matters by holding borrowers’ bank cards.