KUALA LUMPUR — Financial losses linked to online fraud have risen sharply over the past three years, climbing from RM1.57 billion in 2024 to RM2.97 billion in 2025, before reaching RM830 million in the first five months of 2026, according to the Home Ministry (KDN).
The ministry said non-existent investment schemes consistently accounted for the highest losses, recording RM848.62 million in 2024, increasing significantly to RM1.46 billion in 2025, and standing at RM361.63 million so far this year, Bernama reported.
Telecommunications-related fraud followed a similar upward trajectory, with losses of RM497.12 million in 2024, RM802.47 million in 2025, and RM235.63 million as of May 2026. Love scams, while comparatively lower in scale, also recorded steady figures at RM45.87 million in 2024, RM47.44 million in 2025, and RM17.76 million for the early part of 2026.
Geographically, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur remained the states most affected. Selangor’s losses rose from RM446.16 million in 2024 to RM986.79 million in 2025, while Kuala Lumpur saw an increase from RM293.30 million to RM782.86 million over the same period.
“States with other economic focus such as Johor, Penang, and Perak also recorded significant year-on-year increases between 2024 and 2025 while Sabah and Sarawak also exhibited a similar trend of losses and increased to more than RM110 million in 2025,” said KDN in a written reply uploaded to the Parliament portal.
The ministry was responding to a question from Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee (PN–Warisan) on the trend of online fraud losses over the past three years, recovery rates for victims, and measures to improve detection, freezing, and fund restitution.
KDN reiterated its commitment to strengthening efforts against cybercrime through the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC), which operates 24 hours a day and facilitates rapid action such as freezing bank accounts and restricting suspicious transactions.
Since its establishment in 2022, the NSRC has successfully seized RM32.49 million linked to fraud cases, with RM10.9 million returned to victims.
“Based on statistics from 2022 to 2025, the seized money amounted to RM25.2 million with 29 per cent or RM7.3 million of which was successfully returned to the victims, while for the period January to May 2026, a total of RM7.25 million in funds was seized with RM3.57 million or 49 per cent returned to the victims.
“The increase in the percentage of funds returned proves that the function of NSRC as a national scam response centre is becoming more effective and is increasingly trusted by the people,” according to the ministry. — June 24, 2026