KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's anti-scam centre has uncovered more than 43,000 fraudulent bank accounts used to launder stolen money.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) received 64,000 calls between January and September, with 22,000 reporting financial losses from fraud schemes.
He said criminals siphoned over RM147 million from victims in the first nine months of 2023.
The government's new National Fraud Portal launched in April, meanwhile, has drastically improved the fight against cybercrime.
"We have slashed fund-tracing time by 75 per cent and boosted frozen asset recovery by 34 per cent," Anwar told the Dewan Negara in a written response.
Banks have enhanced their fraud detection capabilities by 37 per cent since the portal's launch, helping authorities identify thousands of "mule accounts" criminals use to obscure money trails.
Anwar said the government planned to strengthen the NSRC's operations by extending operating hours, creating permanent staff positions, and integrating specialists from the police, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), Bank Negara Malaysia, financial institutions and telecommunications companies.
Anwar said this in response to a question from Senator Manolan Mohamad's about the effectiveness of the new fraud portal.
"The portal now provides comprehensive end-to-end automation for fraud reporting and fund tracing, enabling rapid response across financial institutions," he said.