RM56.9 million losses in online scam as of June this year - Arjunaidi

SHAH ALAM: Selangor has recorded losses amounting to RM56.9 million in online fraud cases during the first six months of this year.

Selangor police chief Datuk Arjunaidi Mohamed said it involved 1,354 cases, which accounted for 75 per cent of the total commercial cases in the state, with the Macau scam recording the highest number of online fraud.

"Based on our investigation, most (of the RM59.6 million) has been transferred abroad and caused losses to the country's economy," he said after launching the state-level Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) Anti-Scam Campaign today.

Arjunaidi said for the period between January and June this year, more than 1,700 individuals had been detained for their role as mule account owners.

He said it was due to the modus operandi of using mule accounts that made it difficult for the police to prove the involvement of real criminals the scam.

"I have expressed the need to amend or enact laws that are more in line with current developments. This is because this is online crime. Our law does not cover online crime," "he said.

He said the existing law under Section 420 of the Penal Code, namely fraud, needed to be amended so that it would be in line with the growing technology as it did not meet the current situation with the online banking and money transfer system.

Meanwhile, he said a total of 392 billboards in Selangor will display video clips of the PDRM anti -scam campaign for a month.

-- BERNAMA