KUALA LUMPUR: The federal Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) has identified over 208,000 mule accounts linked to online scams and commercial crime activities in Malaysia.
Speaking at the Media Prima Board of Directors Workshop today, CCID director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said that approximately 80 per cent of recent police reports pertain to commercial crimes.
"This indicates that scammers are relentless, continuing to exploit vulnerable victims through online platforms, targeting unsuspecting individuals, including the elderly and students, and robbing them of their money and life savings," Ramli said.
He highlighted the growing trend of online scams in the country, noting that the department's statistics show an annual increase in the number of cases and the amount of money lost to these scammers.
"We have also identified over 208,000 mule accounts, which we know are being used by scammers and syndicates to facilitate their transactions across a variety of scams," he said, referring to the Semak Mule database.
Ramli pointed out that many of these mule accounts are owned by students, who may be either desperate for money or too trusting of people they meet on social media.
"Students and the elderly are the easiest targets for these syndicates, as they can be easily intimidated," he added.
Previously, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail revealed that university students have been identified as knowingly surrendering their bank details to scam syndicates they befriended online in exchange for money.
When asked about the chances of scam victims recovering their losses after lodging a complaint with the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) via the 997 hotline, Ramli said there is a higher likelihood of stopping the transactions and securing the money once Act 574 is amended and approved by the Dewan Rakyat.
"Online fraud often involves multiple layers of transfers between different accounts. If the victim calls 997 quickly enough, there is still a good chance to block the money from being transferred to several other accounts.
"There is a process in place that allows interception, but the success depends on the number of layers involved in the scam. Some scams involve up to 10 layers of accounts. Recovering the money in such cases might be difficult, but we hope that once the law is amended, there will be a higher chance of detection at the initial stages," he said after the event.
Also present at the event were Media Prima group chairman Datuk Seri (Dr) Syed Hussian Aljunid, Media Prima group managing director Rafiq Razali, New Straits Times Press (NSTP) group managing editor Datuk Ahmad Zaini Kamaruzzaman, Berita Harian deputy group editor M. Thillinadan, New Straits Times group editor Farrah Naz Karim, and Securities Commission managing director Datin Azalina Adham.
Ramli also emphasised the role of the media in combating online scams through the dissemination of scam awareness campaigns, public service announcements, and regular reporting on crime trends.
"With widespread dissemination by the media, we hope to raise awareness and protect the most vulnerable, especially the elderly, who may be deceived and intimidated by these scammers."
From 2021 to June 2024, a total of 112,320 commercial crime cases were investigated, and 45,596 cases were prosecuted in court, he said.
Ramli added that the police expect the amount of losses due to cyber fraud crimes, currently recorded at RM753.5 million for the first six months of this year, to continue increasing.
"Based on statistics from January to June, telecommunications fraud resulted in losses totalling RM197.2 million; e-finance scams, RM30 million; love scams, RM128.8 million; e-commerce fraud, RM32.5 million; loan fraud, RM19.4 million; and investment fraud, RM345.6 million," he said.