KUALA LUMPUR: Bukit Aman has proposed that data from the National Fraud Portal (NFP) be integrated into the force’s SemakMule Portal for more effective impact to curb commercial crimes.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf (pic), who made the call, said police will be having meetings and discussions with relevant parties on the matter soon.
He said so far, 981 mule companies and businesses used by scammers have been listed in the SemakMule Portal.
“These companies are suspected of being involved in investment scams.
“In fact, one of the companies even listed a 21-year-old student as its director,” he said.
He also said the number of scam cases could be reduced if there are stricter regulations on the opening of bank accounts by companies and businesses by Bank Negara.
“At the same time, the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) should impose strict requirements on the registration of companies.
“Both measures could assist in curbing scams, especially investment scams,” he said.
Based on SSM data, some 9.2 million businesses have been registered as of March 31 last year, Comm Ramli said.
“However, only 1.6 million or 17.8% were active. As for companies, 1.5 million have been registered but only 673,393 (43.5%) were active. Indirectly, it shows that it is easy to register a company or a business.
“We feel the regulations to register such entities should be tightened to prevent any opportunities for scammers to exploit,” he said.
Comm Ramli said over RM260mil had been lost to commercial crimes so far this year with online scams contributing the biggest number.
He also revealed that more than 100,000 mule accounts used by scammers have been detected since 2023.
He said the accounts had been opened at several local and international banks in the country.
“Our investigations revealed that there is a trend lately of scammers using foreign workers to open mule accounts.
“The workers were employed in various sectors, including service and security sectors.
“We detected 22 bank accounts under the names of foreign workers involved in scam-related activities,” he said, adding that mule accounts are on the rise with 46,048 in 2023 and 50,295 last year.
