SOME RM85 million has been lost to scammers in around 4,000 cases since the movement control order (MCO) in March until August 4, Deputy Home Minister Ismail Mohamed Said  told Dewan Rakyat today.

He said the number of scam syndicates has increased rapidly during the MCO.

“The police have intensified their operations, arrested individuals and charged them in court.

“We have also started awareness campaigns and we have a Facebook page on cyber crime alert where we update the people on the latest scams.”

Ismail (Kuala Krau-BN) was asked by Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim (Baling-Barisan Nasional) on fraud cases during MCO and what has been done to prevent syndicates from continuing their operations.

On the breakdown of scams, Ismail said the highest number of cases came from the Macau scam with 1,001 cases that saw a loss of RM50 million.

“The other scams that involve fake loans, online scams, love scams and SMS scams cost victims RM55 million.

“The police will be working with Bank Negara, Cyber Security Malaysia, telecommunication industry and NGOs” to curb the issue, he added. – August 17, 2020.