KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 (Bernama) — Most online financial fraud cases are found to have resulted from transactions made with the consent of the victims themselves due to psychological and emotional manipulation by cybercriminals, said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).
BNM Kuala Lumpur Regional Office manager S. Vijayadurai said criminals are now becoming more sophisticated in manipulating their victims, including using fear-based tactics or deceiving them through love scams.
“Some victims are told they are involved in drug or hit-and-run cases, while some scammers even pose as individuals wanting to have romantic ties with the victims,” he said as a guest on Bernama Radio’s “POV: Perspektif Bukan Persepsi Bersama Kamal Affandi Hashim” programme today.
Vijayadurai added that such tactics made victims willingly carry out transactions, often unaware that they are being duped.
In addition, criminals are also found to use technology, such as spoofing, to access applications in victims’ smartphones and artificial intelligence (AI) to mimic their voices.
He advised the public to adopt the 3S approach, namely question (soal) the validity of the information received; refrain (sekat) from following the instructions given; and share (sebar) correct information with family and friends.
He said BNM is collaborating with various agencies, including the National Anti-Financial Crime Centre (NFCC), Royal Malaysia Police, (PDRM), Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), the banking industry and the telecommunication industry, through the establishment of the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) to coordinate responses towards fraud cases.
Fraud victims, he added, must promptly report to the NSRC by calling 997, in addition to lodging a police report to facilitate further action.
“Usually, the money taken by scammers will be received through a mule account, which is used by a third party and then used for illegal purposes.
“The chances of recovering the stolen funds depend on how fast the victims lodge a report. We must be aware that scammers will transfer the money from the mule account to multiple layers of accounts swiftly,” he said.
— BERNAMA