KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) recorded 67,735 online crime cases nationwide from January to November this year, involving losses exceeding RM2.7 billion.
According to the Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID), telecommunications scams topped the list with 28,698 cases, followed by e-commerce fraud, which accounted for 14,881 cases.
Meanwhile, non-existent investment schemes were also among the major contributors to financial losses, with 9,296 cases reported. This was followed by non-existent loan scams (8,029 cases), e-finance fraud (5,853 cases) and love scams (978 cases).
“The total losses from non-existent investments amounted to over RM1.37 billion, the highest among all categories. This was followed by telecommunications crimes (RM715.7 million), e-finance crimes (RM458.1 million), e-commerce fraud (RM123.7 million), non-existent loans (RM59.1 million) and love scams (RM43.7 million),” PDRM said in a statement.
The statistics reflect a worrying surge in cybercrime cases, and the public is urged to act swiftly if they fall victim by immediately contacting their banks to block any suspicious transactions.
Victims are also advised to lodge a report with the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) via the 997 hotline, in addition to filing a police report for further action.
