E-commerce fraud in Malaysia: 790 people including Bangladeshis arrested in a gang

From January to May this year, about 54.1 million ringgit of losses were recorded in Malaysia due to e-commerce fraud. This growing trend of online fraud has now become a cause for concern across the country.

Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (JSJK) Director Datuk Rusdi Mohamed Isa said in a statement that to curb this crime, the JSJK's Intelligence and Operations Division conducted a special operation called 'Op Merpati Khas Bill. 1/2025' from September 2 to 12.

The main objective of the operation was to prevent e-commerce-based online fraud. In this, operations were conducted against various syndicate members involved in the fraud, whose roles included operating bank accounts used to receive fraudulent funds, providing ATM cards, and withdrawing money, including various illegal activities.

Datuk Rusdi said at a press conference at the JSJK headquarters in Bukit Aman that the cases are being investigated under Section 420 (fraud) of the Penal Code.

He said that through the operation, the JSJK had arrested a total of 790 ‘account mule’ owners who had allowed their bank accounts to be used for fraudulent transactions. In addition, another 30 people were arrested who were directly involved in running call centres that conducted e-commerce fraud.

A total of 820 people were arrested in the operation, with 660 investigation cases opened. Information on losses of RM11.6 million was also recorded in the syndicate’s activities.

Rusdi added that among those arrested in the operation, 475 were men and 315 were women. Ethnically, the Malay community accounted for the highest number of arrests (482), followed by other ethnic groups (181), Chinese (64), Indians (59) and four foreign nationals, including those from Indonesia and Bangladesh.

According to the data, from January to May 2025, 4,242 fraud cases were filed across Malaysia, which are under investigation under Section 420 of the Penal Code.

E-commerce-based online fraud is rapidly increasing in Malaysia. Relevant government agencies are now conducting strict operations to crack down on this criminal gang and are urging the public to be vigilant.