Online scams involving sale of masks amount to RM18 million - Home Ministry

Scams involving online sales of face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in losses amounting to RM18 million, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Mohamed Said admitted that the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) faced some difficulty combating the online crime.

Among the factors, he said, was that the identity of the caller or scammer could not be determined, he used another person’s telephone number or account to call, and the scammers also operated from other countries.

He added that the government had set up a special taskforce team to tackle this issue, comprising the PDRM, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, and financial institutions in the country.

Ismail was speaking during the Dewan Rakyat sitting today when replying to a supplementary question from Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim (BN-Baling) who asked about the constraints faced by the PDRM in tackling online scams.

-- BERNAMA