KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has been urged to tighten conditions for individuals to open bank accounts to address the issue of online scam, which is on the rise in the country.
Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Mohamed Said said the ministry also sought the cooperation of telecommunication companies to immediately channel the identity, as well as information of the account holders who made the scam calls.
“We always have problems identifying the (scam) callers. They use telephone numbers that are registered in the country or overseas, but the owners could not be identified. Secondly, they always contact using the Internet and also Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP), making it difficult to identify.
“This matter is being given serious attention by PDRM (Royal Malaysia Police) because the scam is on the rise, hence will affect our country’s economy,” he said during the Question for Oral Answers in the Dewan Negara yesterday.
He was responding to a supplementary question from Senator Datuk Bashir Alias on the challenges facing the police in addressing online scams in the country.
Earlier, in response to Bashir’s original question, Ismail told the Senate that other efforts taken by the ministry included creating a portal ‘ccid.rmp.gov.my/semakmule’ for the public to check on dubious bank accounts.
Basir wanted to know efforts made by the Home ministry to address online scams, such as the Macau Scam, Love Scam and African Scam. — Bernama