KUALA LUMPUR: A total of RM3.2bil has been lost to online scams between 2020 and 2023, says Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reforms) M. Kulasegaran.

He said that this involves 107,716 cases, and added that comprehensive action is being taken by the government to tackle the issue.

“The government is not taking the issue of online scams lightly,” he told the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (March 4).

On the measures, Kulasegaran said they include setting up the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) in October 2022 and the 997 phone line.

He added that there have been collaborative efforts to curb scam activities.

Kulasegaran also said these collaborations involved the police, Bank Negara Malaysia, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) National Anti- Financial Crime Centre (NFCC), financial institutions and telecommunications companies.

“The NSRC through the MCMC has identified the phone numbers used for fraudulent activities with the help of telecommunications companies,” he said.

He said as of January, a total of 131 phone numbers have been terminated due to fraudulent activities while 93 others were barred for suspicious activities.

ALSO READ: Many still falling prey to investment scams (https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/02/29/many-still-falling-prey-to-investment-scams)

“The government is in the process of drafting a new Act involving provisions and procedures as well as enforcement of a kill switch to step up digital security and digital safety in line with the current needs of the development of artificial intelligence and cybercrime,” he said.

Kulasegaran added that the government is also studying existing laws such as the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code to see how the law could be used to return money to scam victims.

He was responding to a question by Dr Siti Mastura Muhammad(PN-Kepala Batas) on the losses reported due to scams from 2020 to last year. She also asked about the measures taken by the government to combat scams.

This article first appeared on TheStar.