KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has blocked 2.6 billion suspected scam calls as of September this year, the Dewan Rakyat was told.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reforms) Ramkarpal Singh said through cooperation with the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC), the MCMC also blocked numbers used by scammers.
Ramkarpal said from October 2022 to August this year, 1,732 cases were referred to MCMC where 134 phone numbers were terminated due to involvement in fraudulent activities while 21 suspicious phone numbers were blocked.
"The MCMC also blocked websites to prevent violations of the country's law, including fraud and scam-related activities.
"From Jan 1 till Aug 30 this year, 1,247 websites related to phishing scams were blocked by the MCMC," said Ramkarpal.
He was speaking during Question Time in Parliament on Wednesday (Oct 18) in response to Datuk Seri Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz (PN-Tanah Merah), who asked about total losses and the number of scam victims this year.
According to Ramkarpal, 2018 recorded the highest figure, with 25,609 cases involving losses of RM23bil.
In contrast, Ramkarpal said that 19,222 fraud cases involving losses of RM687mil were recorded from January to September this year.
"On prosecutions and penalties on scam cases from 2021 to July this year, 183 charges were made under Section 417 of the Penal Code and 617 individuals were sentenced," he said.
Ramkarpal also said from 2021 to July this year, 22,837 charges were filed under Section 420 of the Penal Code and 2,221 individuals were charged.
"The effectiveness of the NSRC can be seen when from October last year till Sept 30 this year, 53,783 calls were received, which included reports of fraud cases and also offering advice to the public.
Ikmal then asked whether there were insiders within banks who were involved in selling customers' information to scammers.
"This is a very complex case where scammers are experienced in scams. Whether or not this involves an internal lead, it will depend on investigations, which are carried out in a case-by-case basis," he added.
