Online scams in Malaysia cost over RM2 billion from 2022 to Oct 2024. Investment & telco fraud cause highest losses
PETALING JAYA: Losses of over RM2 billion from over 50,000 online scam cases have been recorded as of October this year since 2022, underscoring the fact that more Malaysians continue to fall victim to scammers.
In a joint written statement to theSun, National Cybersecurity Agency (Nacsa) deputy chief executives Noursilawati Abdul Halim (Operations) and Edora Ahmad (Legal Management) said police records show scam cases rose by 125% from 25,479 in 2022 to 57,375 as of October.
Total reported losses increased from RM851 million to RM2.16 billion over the same period.
“The figures reported today still represent only a portion of the true scale. Based on combined insights from reporting channels, industry threat intelligence and inter-agency coordination, we estimate that Malaysia faces thousands of coordinated scam attempts each week across social media, messaging apps and digital platforms,” they said, adding that the surge spans various scam categories.
According to Nacsa data via police records, the highest accumulated losses came from non-existent investment schemes, including fake investment apps, high-return frauds and impersonation of licensed financial institutions, growing from RM219 million to RM1.25 billion.
Telecommunication fraud cases jumped from 7,732 to 24,472, with losses increasing from RM321 million to RM628 million.
They said love scam cases, involving fake online relationships created to gain trust before duping the victims of money, remained largely unchanged but continued to cause millions in losses each year.
However, combined with online financial scams, including fake sellers, forged payment receipts and fraudulent digital services, the numbers grew from 1,257 to 4,709, an increase of 275% since 2022, accounting for more than RM100 million in losses annually.
Non-existent loan scams involving fake lenders collecting upfront fees rose from 3,174 to 6,926 cases, with total losses amounting to RM51 million.
On scam coordination tactics, they said syndicates often rely on speed, automation and cross-platform migration to evade platform safeguards.
“Cybercriminals use automation and bulk messaging tools that allow scammers to reach thousands of users in minutes. They prepare centralised scripts and playbooks, enabling scammers to deliver identical messages or impersonations with only minor variations.
“To evade detection across multiple security ecosystems, they use cross-platform handover methods, in which victims are contacted on one app but moved to another for payment, verification or fake customer service.
“They also offer scam franchising, in which smaller groups purchase ready-made scam kits, fake websites and chat scripts from larger fraud syndicates.”
They also warned that scammers could recreate new numbers, accounts or domains almost instantly, making it difficult for platforms to identify repeat offenders without shared intelligence.
On victim demographics, Nacsa said impersonation and investment scams continue to target retirees, while students are drawn into job scams, parcel scams and quick-income offers.
Gig workers face fake bookings and fraudulent payment links, while small businesses are hit by invoice fraud, supplier impersonation and compromised WhatsApp or email accounts.
“Digital platforms operating in Malaysia must be held to a uniform baseline of verification, monitoring and accountability.
“Using MyDigital ID in verification processes could provide a government-backed layer of trust and reduce impersonation risks.”
