Cybercrime fraud cases stand at 8,313 as at Oct 3

People wearing balaclavas are silhouetted as they pose with a laptops in front of a screen projected with the word 'cyber crime' and binary code, in this picture illustration taken in Zenica October 29, 2014. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

PETALING JAYA: A total of 8,313 cases of cybercrime fraud have been reported as at Oct 3.

The four most common types are telecommunications fraud (including the Macau scam), financial fraud, 419 scam and fraud related to online purchases, said Communi­cations and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo.

The 419 scam, which is also known as the Nigerian scam, involves the victim being convinced to give out advance fees to someone else.

In a statement yesterday, Gobind said the rising number of cases was a cause of concern.

“According to the (Bukit Aman) Commercial Crime Investigation Department, there were a total of 10,203 cases of fraud and scams reported in 2017 while for 2018, the total number of cases reported as at Oct 3 is 8,313.”

According to statistics shared by the ministry, a total of RM162,625,321 in 2018 were involved in cases of telecommunication fraud alone.

“The ministry, through the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, has held discussions with the CCID to find ways to combat these crimes.

“One of the proposals that is being looked into is to form a taskforce with representatives from MCMC, financial institutions and telcos together with the CCID to expedite information-sharing and to provide quick response to the public in the event a scam is detected,” he said.

He said that telcos were also updating their database on prepaid users to ensure all active numbers were verified and with up-to-date information.

“The information will be cross-checked with the National Registra­tion Department,” he said.