KUALA LUMPUR: The ability of scammers to exploit technical changes and trap victims with new tactics are one of the reasons cybercrime has grown by about 50% in the last two years, says Bronze Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani.
“Since 2019 till 2021, such crimes are on the increase. In 2019, thirteen, 703 cases were recorded with RM539mil in losses, followed by 17, 227 situations in 2020 (RM511. 2mil) and twenty, 701 cases a year ago (RM560. 8mil), mentioned the Inspector-General of Police.
He said public recognition on cybercrime, which usually he said has been at “moderate” degree also contributed to the increase in cases.
“There is a need to disseminate as much knowledge as possible to the neighborhood so they can avoid getting victims of this kind of criminal activities, inch he said in the speech before the release of the virtual Economic Crime exhibition from the Bank Negara Malaysia Museum and Memorial on Monday (Sept 26).
Acryl Sani said loan scams, investment ripoffs, Macau scams, African scams, business email compromised (BEC), email hacks and TEXT MESSAGE scams are one of the main financial crimes.
“A complete of 12, 092 cases have been recorded resulting in RM414. 8mil in losses as of July this year, ” he said.
From 2019 till July this year, thirty-three, 147 suspects are actually detained and some twenty two, 196 cases are prosecuted, Acryl Sani said.
“We believe syndicates will still use comparable tactics but they may focus on young students and the youth in terms of illegal moneylending and mule accounts.
“We have cooperated with banking institutions to ensure investigations especially regarding mule accounts can be completed faster, ” he said.
The IGP recommended the public to safeguard their own personal information and avoid getting files or programs from unverified resources onto mobile devices.
“Account holders exactly who encounter suspicious dealings involving their checking accounts should immediately inform their banks, contact the Commercial Criminal offense Investigation Department (CCID) Scam
Reaction Centre at 03-2610 1559/1599 or BNMTELELINK at 1-300 88 5465 and lodge a police report, ” he stated.
The exhibit lays out various types of financial crimes seen in Malaysia and how they have got evolved over time. This features interactive displays that allow the public to simulate economic scam scenarios. With the various exhibits, the public will be able to learn the Spot, Stop and Share (3S) strategy to protect them selves and others from becoming victims.
The particular exhibition seeks to teach members of the public against financial scams and can become accessed here ( https://museum.bnm.gov.my/fce ).