NST Leader: Vigilance key to stopping scams

New Straits Times

17-07-2025

EFFORTS to stamp out financial scams, which are increasing in sophisticatication and resourcefulness, can't succeed if victims are consistently ignorant and naive. Various enforcement outfits, like the police, Bank Negara Malaysia and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), have done their best but scammers are still having a field day.
The situation is akin to the authorities fortifying homes with formidable security systems but homeowners continue to fail to lock the doors. The cybersecurity measures against scammers are useless if the gullible allow themselves to be duped.
We say this as the police take over the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) previously helmed by various enforcement outfits.
Nevertheless, it makes sense that police control the NSRC: it speeds up victim support, improves recovery rates and adds legal muscle to freeze assets and prosecute scam syndicates.
However, the NSRC must stay inclusive, leveraging expertise across all stakeholders like Bank Negara, MCMC, banks and telecommunications providers. The stakeholders must remain part of the anti-scam effort, especially for education, prevention and rapid action, like Singapore's "shared responsibility framework" where everyone maintains a fair, multi-prong system.
They have to: in 2024, scammers bilked a staggering RM54 billion, roughly three per cent of Malaysia's gross domestic product. According to a survey of Malaysians by trust tech company Gogolook, about 74 per cent of respondents encountered scams every month through phone calls, messaging apps and social media platforms.
Investment scams make up 23 per cent, followed by identity theft (21 per cent) and shopping scams (20 per cent). Unfortunately, 70 per cent of victims refused to report being scammed, mostly due to embarrassment but also scepticism on the effectiveness of alerting the authorities.
Bearing this in mind, the NSRC's most vital task is constant education on how to spot a scam. Awareness campaigns are key but the only way is to develop a scam-resilient society.
Scammers know they cannot beat a secure financial environment, but they understand human frailty. Victims often succumb to sweet talk or threats of legal action to part with their money.
Other than managing public education, improving technology and artificial intelligence defences, and formulating stronger laws and international cooperation, the NSRC may have to deal with victims' emotional toll and the fact that financial scams threaten Malaysia's socio-economic foundations.
In a nutshell, everyone, not just individuals, but also companies and the government, must keep reminding themselves to always be smart and vigilant.