More than 50,000 scammers arrested since 2018, says Azalina

More than 50,000 scammers arrested since 2018, says Azalina

The law and institutional reform minister says the authorities filed more than 33,000 charges against suspects during the five-year period.

Law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said said scam victims had lost almost RM2.96 billion over the past five years. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA:
More than 50,000 people have been arrested for participation in online scams since 2018, law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said said in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Azalina said in the same period, 33,639 criminal charges were filed for online scamming.

“Statistics for the five-year period to April 2023 also show that victims lost almost RM2.96 billion,” she said in a written parliamentary reply to a question by Bakri Jamaluddin (PN-Tangga Batu) on arrest and conviction statistics.

Earlier this month, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) promised stricter enforcement to curb online crime.

MCMC chairman Salim Fateh Din said the “escalating abuse” of online platforms, telecommunication networks or online facilities for scams and malicious cyber activities will not be tolerated anymore.

Citing the National Scam Response Centre, Salim said it had received nearly 12,000 scam complaints this year as of April 2023, with the police commercial crime division reporting losses of RM1.2 billion between 2021 and April 2023.

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