PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to officiate the new National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) office at Tower 2 of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in Cyberjaya next month.
Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said the establishment of the new office is one of the government’s efforts to strengthen its ability to tackle online scam cases and recover victims’ funds, provided reports are lodged promptly.
"The NSRC, which previously operated from Sasana Kijang, Bank Negara Malaysia, has been relocated to MCMC Tower 2, enabling more efficient and integrated operations,” he told the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) in an exclusive interview recently.
The interview was with Bernama Editor-in-Chief Arul Rajoo Duraj Raj, Acting Deputy Editor-in-Chief of News Services Mohd Shukri Ishak and Executive Editor of Economic News Services M. Saraswathi.
Fahmi said the relocation has enhanced the centre’s ability to respond swiftly, as it now operates around the clock with a larger workforce.
When it was first launched on Oct 12, 2022, the NSRC, reachable via the 997 hotline, received between 300 to 400 calls daily and operated from 8am to 8pm. Since its move to MCMC Tower 2 on Nov 17, the NSRC now receives between 500 to 700 calls daily.
He said the increase reflects the centre’s role as the main channel for the public to obtain immediate assistance to prevent greater financial losses.
Fahmi advised scam victims to contact the NSRC within 30 to 60 minutes after an incident to increase the chances of recovering transferred funds, warning that any delay could complicate recovery efforts.
He said the NSRC, which operates under the purview of the Home Ministry (KDN), will continue to be strengthened to ensure swift action can be taken, particularly in freezing accounts and tracing the flow of funds involved in online scam cases.
He said the centre’s rapid-response capability, including efforts to recover victims’ funds, has been further reinforced through integrated cooperation between the police and commercial banks, whose representatives are now placed at the new operations centre.
He said preliminary analysis shows online scam activities tend to follow certain time patterns, and delays in reporting are a major factor hindering efforts to recover victims’ funds.
"Based on the information and data collected, we may be able to take certain measures, including through cooperation with commercial banks. We have seen that previous actions by banks have had a positive impact, although there may be additional proposals we wish to put forward,” he said.
At the same time, Fahmi emphasised that the government does not differentiate between victims of online scams, whether they were lured by attractive investment offers or deceived through other methods, as all forms of online fraud are crimes under the law.
He said the defining element of a scam is fraud itself, regardless of whether victims believed they could obtain better financial returns, particularly through investment links circulated online.
"I don’t think we differentiate between people who believe they could get a better deal, because what makes it a scam is that it is fraud. It is online fraud. Any online fraud is now a crime,” he said.
He added that the government has amended several laws to ensure the definition of online fraud is clear and that enforcement is carried out regardless of victims’ motivations or perceptions. - Bernama
