A VARIETY of scams have been circulating over the last 30 days involving Malaysian firms, with many individuals having fallen prey to banking-related phishing scams and losing millions.
These scams take place despite the Royal Malaysian Police Force (PDRM) issuing an advisory to warn the public of an increase in scams where scammers impersonate bank staff and target victims through phone calls or short message service (SMS).
On Aug 18, 2022, a businesswoman in Johor Bahru, Johor, lost more than RM1 mil in a Macau scam after answering a call from the “Inland Revenue Board”.
Three days after that, a 74-year-old woman from Muar lost RM1.34 mil, also in a Macau scam, after receiving a phone call claiming that she was involved in fraud and illegal activities. She eventually exposed her account to the scammers.
Then on Aug 30, a senior citizen also from Johor Bahru lost about RM1.87 mil in a parcel scam after befriending a woman, believed to be a foreigner, through social media who promised to send goods and cash amounting to RM12.6 mil to the victim.
Besides these three cases of scams in Johor, Meta Malaysia claimed that 72,000 online scams caused victims to lose a whopping RM5.2 bil in the past two years, with the top five most prevalent online scams being e-commerce, illegal loans, jobs, investment schemes and money muling.
No country or organisation is immune to cyber-attacks. Everyone is a potential victim of scams as scamming is a lucrative business to make easy money.
Malaysia saw a worrying, upward trend and drastic increase in online scams over the last two years during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a total of 71,833 scams reported, amounting to more than RM5.2 bil in losses.
The cases involved online sales scams, online trading scams, African scams, Macau scams, Business Email Compromised (BEC) scams, fake loans and SMS scams.
The latest data from January to July 2022 shows that there were over 12,000 cases of online fraud involving losses of RM415 mil. The police, on the other hand, have detained 33,147 cybercrime suspects and charged 22,196.
Americans and Singaporeans affected too
According to the US Federal Trade Commission, Americans lost US$6.1 bil to scams last year due to identity theft, imposter scams, credit bureau, shopping and banks and lenders.
On the other hand, firms and individuals in Singapore faced an increased number of cybercrimes, phishing and ransomware threats and lost US$633.3 mil to scams in 2021, 2.5 times more than the previous year.
Its police said that 90% of scams originate from overseas, and described the scammers as syndicated, well-resourced and technologically sophisticated.
Scammers are trained in psychological manipulation, quick to exploit the weakness or low awareness, ignorance and vulnerability of their victims.
Additionally, they always come out with new techniques, exploiting technology and the gaps that exist in the financial system.
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has since introduced additional action to be taken by banks in an effort to ensure that banking and payment channels remain secure and equipped with up-to-date security controls, namely;
- Migrating from SMS one-time passwords (OTP) to more secure forms of authentication for online activities or transactions;
- Tightening fraud detection rules and alerting customers when activities involving their banking account are detected;
- Restricting customers to only one mobile or device for the authentication of online banking transactions. There will also be a cooling-off period for first-time enrolments of online banking services or devices;
- Setting up dedicated hotlines for customers to report financial scam incidents;
- Facilitating efforts to recover and protect stolen funds, including working with relevant agencies to prevent further losses; and
- Providing convenient ways for customers to suspend their bank accounts that have been compromised as a result of a scam and subsequently reactivate their accounts after a reasonable period.
No end in sight
However, there will be no end in sight if the public keeps downloading fake applications or software created by cyber criminals and refuse to believe they have been scammed.
It was noted that most scams happened due to a lack of consistent awareness and lackadaisical attitude of certain members of the public towards online banking.
The best way to defend themselves is through education by businesses and the Government to close up any loopholes for attacks and other recommended awareness campaigns to be taken by all parties, which must include the following:
- Use verified apps only;
- Browse the web on authorised websites only;
- Use secure connections only;
- Keep your passwords secret;
- Be vigilant while using your credit or debit cards;
- Do not compromise on security software for phones or computers;
- Do not share your personal information with anyone; and
- Never click on suspicious links on SMS or emails
Banks may have all the technologies, policies and procedures in place to be in compliance with international and BNM standards but since scams still happen, there are loopholes in banking systems.
It requires collaborative efforts from all parties, such as BNM, PDRM, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the banks themselves, to address the issues while cybersecurity experts need to identify the syndicates and address some mule accounts and suspicious transactions.
The public is also responsible and plays a role in protecting themselves from scams.
If you receive a call or email from an unknown source, ignore it and report it to the police at 03-26101559 or 03-26101599 and via WhatsApp at 013-2111222.
You can also check the Semak Mule portal at semakmule.rmp.gov.my or via smartphone applications. – Oct 3, 2022
Datuk Seri Akhbar Satar is a professor at the Institute of Crime and Criminology, HELP University.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Main photo credit: Getty Images
