More than 200 phone numbers linked to scams blocked in January

 

PARLIAMENT | The National Scam Response Centre (NCRC) through MCMC and cooperation of telecommunication providers had in January blocked or deactivated 224 numbers suspected of involvement in phone scams.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) M Kulasegaran (Harapan-Ipoh Barat) said the NCRC was responding to public complaints and identified 131 numbers that were subsequently blocked, while 93 others were deactivated.

“The numbers were also recorded in the police’s ‘Semak Mule’ system as a public reference before proceeding with any transactions,” said Kulasegaran during Question Time in Parliament today.

The total numbers blocked or deactivated in January are higher than MCMC’s recorded figure of 155 actions taken between October 2022 and August last year.

Within the same period, no action was taken on 1,577 reported phone scams for various reasons, including a lack of evidence of fraud.

Kulasegaran said there were 107,716 reported phone scams from 2020 to 2023, with total estimated losses of RM3.2 billion.

The NSRC was set up in October 2022, as a one-stop centre against financial scams that coordinated efforts by police, Bank Negara Malaysia, MCMC, National Financial Crime Centre, supported by financial institutions and telecommunication companies.

“As soon as a report is received, the NCRC is able to trace a victim’s money. If their money is still within the banking system, action can be taken to freeze it.

“This will allow the money to be eventually returned to the victim,” he said.

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