A proposed Online Safety Bill could hold banks liable for losses from online scams if negligence is proven.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced in Parliament that stricter laws are needed to combat online fraud, which has cost Malaysians billions. The law, modelled after the UK’s approach, could require banks to reimburse victims if regulatory failures are identified.
In the UK, victims were reimbursed within five working days.
Anwar said the regulation in the UK only came into play if the banks were found to be negligent or had failed to monitor the accounts according to regulations. The Prime Minister also commended the ongoing joint efforts by the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) with relevant enforcement agencies in thwarting online scams.
The NSRC, established in October 2022, has already prevented RM19 million in losses and recovered RM6 million. It works with various agencies, including the police, Bank Negara Malaysia, and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). From January to October this year, Malaysia recorded RM1.224 billion in losses from various scams.
“This includes online scams, telecommunication scams, e-trading scams, e-financing scams, love scams, non-existent loans and online investment scams,” he said.
The Prime Minister said the number of mule accounts being used for such scams is also alarming.
“Although Semak Mule has been successful, the figures are still worrying.
“As of Oct 31, a total of 181,628 telephone numbers, 222,092 bank accounts and 1,395 companies were recorded in Semak Mule for being involved in online scams,” he said.
Preventive efforts include blocking 1.4 billion suspicious calls and 1.2 billion unsolicited SMS, and shutting down 118,184 phone lines and 9,474 fake websites.
While banks may be held accountable, Bukit Aman’s Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf stressed that liability should depend on proven negligence.
He cited MBSB Bank’s reimbursement of RM24.2 million to affected customers following a heist involving forged MyKad identities. He emphasized that consumers must also act responsibly to avoid scams.
“If you are to put all the liability on the banks, then it would not be fair.”