Despite ongoing cyber safety awareness campaigns and widespread reports both in the news and on social media, the number of cybercrimes reported in Malaysia continues to rise.

One the most eye-opening police statistics revealed at the #cyberSAFE Seminar held on 22 October 2017 in Kuala Lumpur was that 70 percent of commercial crimes are cyber related, surpassing drug smuggling.

Themed ‘Keep our Women and Children #cyberSAFE’, the seminar was officiated by the wife of the Malaysian Prime Minister, YABhg Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor.

One of the expert panellists at the seminar, SAC Ahmad Noordin Ismail from the Royal Malaysia Police Cyber Crime & Multimedia Investigation unit, told us that the vicious cycle will continue as long as victims keep quiet.

“We hope to be able to draw more victims to come forward and understand that the police is there to help them,” he said. “I hope this seminar would enable the public to see and understand how the Royal Malaysia Police could assist cybercrime victims.”

SAC Ahmad Noordin said despite all the awareness efforts, there are still Malaysians who fall prey to threats in cyberspace. He said one of the most worrying trends has seen Malaysian women being targeted by love scam syndicates.

“These scammers know how to disguise themselves, making themselves very appealing to their victim,” he said, explaining further that these criminals often target lonely women to trick them into giving money.

“My advice to people is that whenever someone asks for money, take that as a sign and break that friendship,” SAC Ahmad Noordin warned. “You must know when to stop.”

At the same time, he said police are working with various agencies both locally and internationally, to develop new technologies and methods that will enable the early detection and identification of cybercriminals, which will hopefully help prevent more Malaysians from being victims.

READ MORE : Fighting cybercrime with the Royal Malaysia Police!

The #cyberSAFE Seminar was organised by the National Council of Women’s Organisation Malaysia (NCWO) in collaboration with CyberSecurity Malaysia and supported by Limkokwing University.

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