WANITA MCA has called all quarters to support any initiatives by the government to review and amend current laws to hold telecommunications (telco) companies and financial institutions accountable for their role in facilitating online financial scams.
Its national chairperson Datuk Wong You Fong said this is to combat the ever-escalating dilemma of cybercrime especially when such crimes continue to affect thousands of Malaysians daily.
“It is gravely alarming that non-existent investment schemes are causing staggering financial losses – nearly RM1 bil in Malaysia alone in 2024. About RM848.6 million was lost to these scams last year, compared with RM472.1 mil in 2023.
“Everyday, we read in the newspapers, victims across all age groups being duped off their life savings ranging from thousands to millions of ringgit,” she stated.
Wong was responding to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s announcement last Friday (Jan 10) that the government was looking into whether there was a need to amend laws to hold telco companies more accountable for scams.
Similarly, Maybank group president and chief executive officer Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli had also called for laws to hold telecommunications companies accountable for scams, as scammers often buy mobile phones and phone lines for their criminal activities.
According to Wong, the figures are equally alarming across the Causeway, with Singapore reporting S$385.6 mil lost to scams in just the first half of 2024.
“Scammers increasingly rely on mobile phones, social media platforms, and online financial channels to target unsuspecting victims, often manipulating them into handing over significant sums of money to be deposited into different bank accounts,” she noted.
“These operations are facilitated by easy access to unregulated SIM cards and anonymous online transactions, which are made possible in part by telecommunications companies and financial institutions.”
Continued Wong, similar to how the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) works to remove social pornographic websites while the police infiltrate the dark web to identify and apprehend paedophile predators, similar measures need to be crucially applied to suspected scam platforms on social media including those advertising on Facebook, or operating via WhatsApp, Telegram, and other messaging apps.
“Malaysia should take a page from Singapore’s proactive approach which holds telcos accountable for the misuse of SIM cards, as well as their legislation allowing for the freezing of scam victims’ bank accounts to prevent further losses and implement similar regulations,” she reckoned.
“Identified mule and scam accounts should likewise be frozen. Telcos must be held accountable for ensuring that SIM cards do not fall into the hands of criminal syndicates, and financial institutions must be responsible for monitoring and preventing fraudulent transactions from occurring within their systems.” – Jan 13, 2025
Main image: theSun
