KUALA NERUS: The Higher Education Ministry will expand awareness programmes across universities to protect students from being used as holders of mule accounts, said Deputy Minister Datuk Mustapha Sakmud.
He emphasised that the ministry is taking the issue seriously, and will work to identify students whose bank accounts have been exploited by fraud syndicates.
"For now, we are relying on the police to conduct the investigations, while the ministry will focus on awareness programmes, to inform students about the risks and how they may be exploited as mule account holders," he said.
He said this after officiating the Global Young Leaders Summit 2024, at Dewan Sultan Mizan, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT).
Mustapha said that the ministry will review each case individually, and offer assistance to those who were unaware of their involvement in the fraud syndicates.
He also did not rule out the possibility that students from B40 families might be targeted by fraud syndicates.
"There is a chance that B40 students could become victims. Sometimes, we don't fully understand why certain offers seem attractive, but if there are students from the B40 group, they might be enticed," he said.
Mustapha advised all students to exercise caution with calls or messages from unknown sources requesting personal information, including bank details.
It was recently reported that the police have identified around 208,000 mule account holders in the country, some of whom are students.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf reportedly said that students are particularly vulnerable to becoming mule account holders due to their tendency to have multiple bank accounts.