LETTERS: Malaysian consumers are losing billions of ringgit to scammers every day. According to police statistics, Malaysia recorded 66,204 online fraud cases in 2025, compared with 35,368 in 2024.
Furthermore, it has been reported that only 30 per cent of victims actually report scam cases, meaning even these figures may be grossly underrepresented.
The government and agencies have introduced numerous initiatives to combat scams.
Bank Negara Malaysia has introduced stringent banking security measures, including enhancing authentication, fraud detection systems, banking kill switches and the national fraud portal, to facilitate faster identification and freezing of suspicious transactions.
Police have also conducted enforcement against scam syndicates and mule accounts. The National Scam Response Centre, accessible through the 997 hotline, provides a mechanism for rapid reporting and intervention.
Police also operate the Semak Mule portal, enabling consumers to check suspicious bank accounts and telephone numbers. However, recovering stolen funds remains a major challenge.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission has also introduced measures to address scams involving fraudulent communications, suspicious phone numbers and illegal telecommunications activities.
Meanwhile, e-commerce platforms have introduced seller verification, buyer protection and complaint handling mechanisms. Despite these measures, e-commerce fraud cases increased from 7,662 in 2024 to 13,979 cases in 2025, an increase of over 82 per cent.
The problem therefore is not a lack of initiatives. It is whether the collective measures are sufficiently effective in preventing scams before consumers suffer financial losses.
The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) calls on the government to undertake a national audit and assessment on the effectiveness of current measures in protecting consumers from scams.
To strengthen anti-scam efforts, Fomca has submitted a policy paper entitled 'Memorandum on Scam Prevention Framework: Protecting Malaysians against Scams'.
Key proposals in the memorandum include the establishment of a National Scam Prevention Council (NSPC) to lead and monitor the effectiveness of measures to prevent scams. The Council should include key regulators, academics and consumer organisations. It must also establish a National Scam Intelligence System to identify emerging scams.
The priority of the Council would be to develop a Scam Prevention Framework, whose primary objective would be to establish consumer protections against scams by setting consistent and enforceable obligations for businesses in key sectors where scammers operate.
They should strengthen multi-stakeholder engagement in the scam ecosystem, bank and payment protections, telecommunication protection, and hold digital platforms accountable.
A National Behavioural Scam Literacy Programme should also be established, focusing on the psychology of emotional manipulation, creating awareness of cybersecurity protections, current scam protection and recovery programmes.
To ensure the effectiveness of the measures being undertaken, there is a need to establish Key Performance Indicators to ascertain the effectiveness of preventive and redress measures. These could include reduction in consumer losses, recovery rates, response times, time taken to freeze funds, removal of scam advertisements, detecting emerging scams and improvement in consumer scam-resistance behaviour.
To reduce scams further, we need a two-pronged approach – consumer empowerment and building a safer scam ecosystem. Additionally, we need to support and enhance the effectiveness of these programmes by meaningful comparison to best practices as well as evidence-based evaluation.
DR PAUL SELVA RAJ,
Deputy President, Fomca
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times
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