BANGI, Sept 2 — RM5.16 million in scam proceeds was returned to victims between January and July, representing 65 per cent of the RM7.94 million seized through the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC), said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
“For us, the return of money to victims is among the enforcement outcomes that can be directly felt by the people,” he said at a press conference after officiating the International Cyber Resilience Conference (CRC) here today.
He said the figures also indicate the increasing severity of cyber threats, with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reporting that scam operations in Southeast Asia alone generate tens of billions of dollars annually.
He also said cases involving child sexual abuse material (CSAM) increased from 68 in 2024 to 152 last year, while another 100 cases were recorded up to the middle of this year.
“As of April 2026, through Ops Cyber Guardian, involving the cooperation of seven countries, we have successfully led to the arrest of 69 individuals and seized 498,694 digital files, including 205,000 files of child sexual abuse material,” he said.
He also revealed that as of August 28, 746 Malaysians had fallen victim to fake overseas job offers.
Therefore, he said, the government and enforcement agencies must leverage AI to tackle increasingly sophisticated cyber criminals while taking into account the cross-border nature of such crimes.
He said cyber criminals today operate in syndicates and leverage rapidly evolving technologies.
“In the context of our discussion, it is about how these AI tools can be used by policymakers and enforcement agencies to face criminals who are also sophisticated.
“They (criminals) also use cyber technology and are far ahead of us. They operate across borders and are not conventional criminals, but crime syndicates.
“Generative AI is a new phenomenon. When criminal perpetrators have already mastered it, we cannot remain stuck in our old ways,” he said.
Themed “Navigating Challenges and Opportunities in Global Cyber Resilience”, CRC emphasises the nation’s capability to not only prevent cyber threats but also prepare, respond, recover and adapt when disruptions occur, while ensuring the continuity of the nation’s critical functions.
