Combating scams is one of the top priorities for Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil. During his recent interview with BFM, he reminded victims not to be scared or ashamed, and to report the scam incidents quickly to National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) by dialling 997.
Fahmi said if victims call NSRC within 24 hours, God-willing, some of the money that was pilfered or stolen can be returned. He shared that between October to November, he recalled there were about 4,000 calls made to 997. Out of the RM12 million amount that was scammed, about RM1.3-1.4 million was managed to be saved by the NSRC, which is still a significant number. The NSRC was established in October 2022 during the previous administration.
Fahmi said scams are one of the focuses of his ministry and he is working closely with his deputy on it. He said Deputy Finance Minister Steven Sim also wants to tackle scams and there are many parts to this. This involves the financial institutions, communications and also the investigative aspect which involves the Ministry of Home Affairs.
In a town hall event held last month, Fahmi shared that if victims call the NSRC within 24 hours, Bank Negara Malaysia would take action to stop the outflow of funds from the system. The Minister also highlighted that scams are a potential national security risk as the funds can be channelled into the black economy which can be used to buy drugs or weapons.
[ SOURCE, IMAGE SOURCE ]
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