Kuala Lumpur: Stampin MP Chong Chieng Jen has renewed his call for stronger banking safeguards and legal reforms to combat online scams, proposing mandatory biometric verification for ATM withdrawals and greater accountability for banks that fail to prevent the use of mule accounts.
Speaking after receiving a written parliamentary reply from the Ministry of Home Affairs revealing that Malaysians lost RM5.37 billion to online scams between 2024 and May 2026, Chong said he had previously highlighted the fact that for online money to be taken out from the system, the syndicates have to withdraw cash either over the bank counters or through banks’ ATMs.
“This is where stronger safeguards should be introduced. Banks should introduce fingerprint readers and Identity Card readers for all ATM withdrawals, and flag any user who has made abnormally frequent withdrawals.
“It is also my proposal that the law should be amended to make banks that allow mule accounts to be operated to be made liable, whether wholly or partly, for the loss caused via the use of the mule accounts,” he said in a statement.
According to the parliamentary reply, amongst the losses, investment scams accounted for the largest portion, recording a loss of RM2.68 billion (49.9%), followed by losses resulting from telecommunication fraud, amounting to RM1.54 billion (28.7%).
“Electronic finance crime caused a total RM660.64 million (12.3%), and e-commerce scams recorded RM250.81 million loss (4.6%), while loan scams and love scams contributed to the losses of RM138.92 million (2.5%) and RM111.08 million (2.0%).
“This is a shocking average of RM2.2 billion lost to online scams annually nationwide. It also caused tremendous financial impact on the individuals who have fallen victim to the scams,” he said.
Chong said the Government has formed a cross-department task force for the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC), a one-stop centre to provide expeditious responses and to freeze the flow of funds upon receipt of complaints.
“This NSRC one-stop centre comprises officers from the Police force, Bank Negara Malaysia, Malaysia Communication and Multimedia Commission, and banks.
“I was also informed that the Police have stepped up tracking down and identification of mule accounts and the investigation on the scam syndicates,” he said.
He added that, despite the various measures taken by the Government over the years, online scams are still rampant and causing billions of dollars in losses to ordinary Malaysians, some of whom are retirees who are scammed out of their lifelong savings.
“With such figures and widespread online scams, we should all be mindful when we carry out online transactions. Do not trust online investments and advertisements too much and always seek verification from banks or someone more savvy in multimedia technology,” he said.
