Your first line of defence, tracking scams: National Scam Response Centre (NSRC), 997 hotline, National Fraud Portal (NFP), emakMule portal

 

Boosting efficiency: A woman reading about the NFP, which is poised to greatly enhance the process of scam reporting and fund tracing. — AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star

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The platform’s ability to centralise and standardise fraud reporting across play its part and stay vigilant against scammers, say police

Public must play its part and stay vigilant against scammers, say police

KUALA LUMPUR: Check before your click, say the police.

Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf has urged the public to use the SemakMule portal (https://semakmule.rmp.gov.my/) before making any financial transaction online.

“Use the SemakMule portal to verify and check the list of mule bank accounts, phone numbers and shell companies used by scammers.

“The portal was established in 2020 to list phone numbers and mule bank accounts, but it has since been improved to (include) the names of shell companies,” he told The Star yesterday.

Comm Ramli said that so far, a total of 216,074 mule accounts have been listed on the site along with 178,006 phone numbers used by scammers.

“We also listed a total of 3,904 shell companies used by scammers,” he added. 

Some 27 million visitors have logged in to the portal since its inception, and about one million of the searches have been positive, meaning transactions made to mule accounts were prevented.

Comm Ramli hopes that the public would be able to fully utilise the improved SemakMule portal to prevent from getting scammed.

“We will never relent in our enforcement efforts against scam syndicates, but we hope the public can play its part by staying vigilant,” he said.

Comm Ramli said scammers are coming up with new modus operandi to dupe victims into giving them their money, including using generative artificial intelligence to produce fake videos, as well as audio and text messages.

“Scammers are resorting to new and innovative ways to dupe victims. We have encountered cases recently in which scammers used deepfake technology to mimic the voice of a victim’s friend to dupe them.

“Use the SemakMule portal to prevent being scammed. The public can also report any scam to the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) by calling the 997 hotline,” he added.

According to Comm Ramli, other methods used by scammers include advertising dubious investment schemes on social media and phone scams, where scammers call up victims posing as officers from government agencies.

Meanwhile, on the establishment of the National Fraud Portal (NFP), Comm Ramli said it was a good anti-scam effort.

“We welcome the NFP, especially when it can further enhance the role of the NSRC in detecting scams faster, (enabling us) to help the victims.

“It will certainly boost the fight against scams,” he said.

Comm Ramli also hopes that financial institutions will be able to fully utilise the NFP, to enhance security measures.

“It (NFP) is a step in the right direction but at the same time, we urge banks and other financial institutions to upgrade their security, both internally and externally against any threat be it malware or ransomware.

“We also hope they will be able to better secure the data of their customers as well,” he said.

This year alone, over RM1.6bil in losses have been recorded from commercial crimes, including scams, Comm Ramli noted.

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Expert calls for NSRC overhaul as millions lost to scammers posing as NSRC officials

 

WASPADA PANGGILAN DARIPADA NSRC - Laman Web MKN

PETALING JAYA: There is a need to look at the current staffing and ability of the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC), which is unable to handle the scams that are happening, says cybersecurity law expert Derek John Fernandez.

Although there is presently a hotline for scammed victims to report to NSRC, the staff members are not trained enough and the hotline is not active all the time, the lawyer pointed out.

“For now, there is only a handful of borrowed civil staff manning NSRC’s 997 hotline and it is not on round the clock, all year round.

“On top of that, those who take the calls are not adequately trained to diagnose these cases and as scams take place almost instantly due to advanced technology, speed is of much necessity in stopping a scammer. 

“It should be a 24-hour hotline run by trained personnel at the call centre with the right amount of budget and resources.

“Without this, NSRC cannot fulfil its mandate as the national scam response centre,” said Fernandez, who is also a Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) commissioner.

He feels that there is much to be done to strengthen NSRC and coordinate its four main components – the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), Bank Negara, MCMC and National Anti-Financial Crime Centre (NFCC) – to enable it to function more effectively as a one-stop anti-scam centre.

“The policies of NSRC must be pushed to reduce scam risks. My view is that the agency now has insufficient resources to carry out a full service to cover all complaints of scams.

“On top of that, it also lacks staff to conduct proper diagnoses of attempted scams,” he said.

Fernandez said that if NSRC is to function as a one-stop centre for all scam responses, the government must provide it with more funds and the latest technology.

“The agency head and staff members must also be given more command and control to be able to stop scammers,” he said.

He called on the four main components of NSRC as well as financial institutions to play their part in training the staff members.

“There must be clear and defined mandates, powers and financing of the centre,” said Fernandez.

Meanwhile, the Alliance for Safe Community chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye called for the government to equip the NSRC with the latest technologies to fight cybercrime as well as to update any obsolete cyber laws.

“In our fight against scamners, it is necessary to make full use of the NSRC but to do so the government must equip NSRC with the latest technologies.

“Online scamming has become such a serious issue that most of the criminal activities by scammers are online.

“We need to employ the latest technologies. We must utilise NSRC to deal with public complaints.

“We need to look at the expertise needed, albeit foreign expertise if need be,” said Lee.

He said that it is sad that although NSRC is already a year old, it has yet to be the one stop anti scam centre it was supposed to be.

“The authorities should revisit NSRC and ensure that more work is done to beef up the centre. It must involve all the four relevant components of the NSRC.

“I hope the authorities will make sure the centre is not only to solve scams but is also a prevention agency to stop more scams from happening.

“The government should also study the current cyber laws and amend them to ensure our cybersecurity legislation is updated to ensure we will win in our fight against cybercrime,” said Lee.

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TRUE OR NOT 

QuickCheck: Have scammers started impersonating NSRC...

NATION 17 Jun 2024

Plans to fortify anti-scam centre

 Millions lost to scammers posing as NSRC officials

KUALA LUMPUR: Scammers impersonating National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) personnel have already duped 60 people this year, resulting in RM7.6mil worth of losses, says Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf.

The Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director said the victims would receive calls from someone claiming to be from the NSRC, who would then tell them that their phone number was linked to a scam report and might be cancelled.

“The call will then be transferred to another person, posing as a police officer.

“They will be told to follow every instruction until they eventually transfer funds to an account,” he said when contacted. 

Comm Ramli emphasised that NSRC operates solely as a one-way communications centre for reporting scams.

“NSRC officers will not call anyone and if you receive any calls claiming to be from the centre, it is definitely a scam.

“I also hope the public will make use of the SemakMule portal to check and verify bank accounts before making transactions,” he said.

The police have opened 60 investigations into such cases, involving RM7.6mil in losses, as of June 15, Comm Ramli said.

“One of the latest cases involves a 70-year-old retired factory worker in Johor who lost RM584,000 of his life savings after he received a call from scammers posing as NSRC officers,” he added.

On another matter, Comm Ramli said there were reported losses of RM1.07bil from 14,846 commercial cases in the first 24 weeks of the year.

“We recorded an average of 88 cases daily,” he said.

He added that the number of cases had increased slightly from the 14,798 cases that were recorded in the corresponding period last year.

“However, the amount of losses has spiked by about 27% as the cases resulted in RM843mil in losses last year,” he said.

He added that the CCID is confident in dealing with the huge number of cases, as it has seen an increase in successful prosecutions.

“A total of 7,018 investigation papers led to successful prosecutions this year compared with the same period last year when 6,219 prosecutions were recorded,” he said.

Comm Ramli reminded the public to be more vigilant.

“Help us spread commercial crime prevention messages. Let us work together to create a safer environment, free from commercial crime,” he said.

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Fighting chance to beat scammers

 

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KUALA LUMPUR: The idea of adopting a 48-hour “cooling period” when money above a threshold is transferred to new bank accounts might give scam victims enough time to pull their money back from the brink before it reaches the greasy hands of scammers.

Cybersecurity law expert and lawyer Derek John Fernandez said that is one of the ways authorities and financial institutions can stop a financial scam.

He said that as victims usually realise they are scammed after 24 hours, there is another 24-hour window for banks to stop the transaction.

ALSO READ : Cutting off the SMS channel scam route

Fernandez said this is among the immediate measures he has proposed in a 75-page paper to the government on what the authorities can do to protect consumers from financial scams.

The good-funds model, which has a cooling-off period for first-time transactions between individual accounts, is practised in some countries such as Australia to ensure that there is no fraudulent activity before funds are transferred for the first time.

“Such a period will enable a person to inform the bank of a scam transaction to a mule account and stop the payment,” said Fernandez.

“At the moment, in Malaysia, a cooling-off period is only observed for the first-time enrolment of online banking services or secure devices. During this time, no online banking activity is allowed to be conducted,” he added.

Fernandez pointed out that the average consumer is ill-equipped to combat cybersecurity threats and cybercrime by themselves.

He said the country had embraced digitalisation without proper consideration of cybersecurity.

ALSO READ : Large amounts cleared out in minutes

“The true cost of digitalisation has been totally understated because the cost of cybersecurity had not been factored in properly. We have emboldened criminals and given them great opportunities to commit crimes in the safety of being outside our country.

“Now cybercrime is the third biggest criminal activity in the world and is growing,” said Fernandez.

“Those who profit the most from digitalisation should be made to bear the true cost of cybersecurity and the losses that occur due to weaknesses in the technology they used to create those profits.

“The government itself is unable to pay totally for the cost of cybersecurity and those companies who have profited the most from digitalisation must bear a proportionate and fair cost of cybersecurity. They must be made to protect their customers with sufficient resources,” said Fernandez.

A concerted effort by law enforcement agencies, financial institutions and telco service providers to coordinate a rapid response for online financial scams is also the key to enabling vulnerable victims of scammers to at least get some of their money back, said National Anti-Financial Crime Centre (NFCC) director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali.

He said that while educating the public on scam awareness is an important step in mitigating the risk of scams, there are several other robust measures that can be put in place to help prevent scams from occurring.

Mustafar listed the factors as improved legislation, enhanced consumer protection, increased enforcement, stronger cybersecurity and better collaboration between government agencies, businesses and consumers that can help identify new types of scams and develop more effective strategies for preventing them.

“Governments can put in place laws and regulations that make it easier to prosecute scammers and discourage fraudulent activities,” he said.

Mustafar, who also heads the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC), which was set up late last year, added that a proposal is in the pipeline to amend the laws and regulatory mechanisms relating to scam victim restitution, mule accounts and the power of the investigating officer.

“Law enforcement agencies can work more closely with financial institutions and businesses to track down and prosecute scammers,” said Mustafar.

He sees NSRC as the command centre – focusing on online financial scams – to coordinate efforts among law enforcement agencies (NFCC, police, Bank Negara and the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission) together with financial institutions and telco service providers to coordinate rapid response for online financial scams.

“However, there is still much work to be done to combat scams and fraud, shift public attitudes towards greater awareness and caution, improve the efficiency and transparency of the financial system, and take effective enforcement actions against criminals,” said Mustafar. 

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Scam response centre (NSRC) hailed timely

 

Eyes on scammers: The National Scam Response Centre will act based on reports received to block accounts. — Filepic

National Scam Response Centre – urgently needed to stop millions...

 

KUALA LUMPUR: Forming the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) is timely with the worrying increase in scam cases, says Universiti Teknologi Mara School of Media and Information Warfare Studies’ security and political analyst Dr Noor Nirwandy Mat Noordin.

“We hope the setting up of such a central agency and budget accorded to CyberSecurity Malaysia will lead to more awareness and more participation from the public in curbing scams and cybercrimes,” he said.The government announced in Budget 2023 the formation of the NSRC that will be operational this month. 

RM73 million to enhance cybersecurity.

 https://clips.thestar.com.my/Interactive/BUDGET2023/Scam%20awareness_Budget%202023.mp4

 

The centre involves cooperation between the police, Bank Negara Malaysia, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and National Anti-Financial Crime Centre (NFCC).

It will act based on reports received to block accounts as well as take action against criminals.

Banking institutions will also tighten security measures for Internet banking by stopping the use of SMS one time-passwords (OTPs) for high-risk transactions.

CyberSecurity Malaysia is also allocated RM73mil, which will, among others, improve monitoring, tracking and reporting of cyberthreats including developing cyberforensic system capability.

“We believe the funds allocated to CyberSecurity will be used to develop a manual on how people can lodge reports on the numbers of suspected scammers while increasing financial literacy among the public.“We hope such efforts will lead to people becoming more wary and vigilant against tactics used by scammers, which are ever changing,” Noor Nirwandy said.

Malaysians Against Rape, Assault and Snatch Thief (Marah) founder Dave Averan said the initiative to set up the NSRC was timely and welcomed, given the rampant and increasing occurrence of various financial scams on a daily basis worldwide.

“It is good that CyberSecurity Malaysia, the police, Bank Negara and MCMC are co-opted, as this collaboration provides synergy and a faster resolution to such cases.

“As in all things Malaysian, this good initiative will boil down to the actual implementation and effective carrying out of their responsibilities. Marah will definitely be keeping an eye on this,” he said. 

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