Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysia’s losses from online scams have continued to rise sharply in recent years, Deputy Minister of Communications Teo Nie Ching has said.
Teo revealed on May 16 that online scam losses in Malaysia reached 2.77 billion RM (about 700 million USD) last year, compared with 1.28 billion RM in 2023 and 1.57 billion RM in 2024. Investment scams accounted for the largest share of the losses, she noted.
She explained that scammers often lure victims with promises of quick profits from small initial investments. Then, victims are encouraged to invest more until they end up losing all their savings.
To address the growing problem, the Ministry of Communications, through the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), has intensified the implementation of its Safe Internet Campaign across communities nationwide. The campaign applies different approaches tailored to specific target groups in order to effectively raise digital awareness.
At residential areas, the programmes mainly address online scam awareness. Meanwhile, secondary school and university students are educated about job scam risks and the dangers associated with renting or allowing the use of personal bank accounts as mule accounts for illegal transactions.
As of April 30, the campaign had been implemented at 10,134 educational institutions, including primary and secondary schools, teacher training institutes and higher education establishments, reaching nearly 900,000 participants./.
