Some Malaysians purposely go overseas to become scammers, says home minister

Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail today said that some Malaysians went overseas on purpose in order to become scammers or become involved in online fraud. 

He said the authorities' success in bringing back those who had fallen victim to such scams had found several different categories of fraud. 

Firstly, he said, there were those who were given job offers and who were deceived upon their arrival at the country in question. 

Others knew from the outset that they would become involved in fraud the minute they set foot in the country. 

Those who succeeded in running cryptocurrency and love scams would then refuse to go home, choosing instead to continue running the scams. 

"Then there are those who arrived but did not achieve their KPI and became victims instead," he said. 

"So they reach out to us, asking to be rescued."

Ismail said others would go overseas to gamble, and then find themselves in debt to loan sharks. 

"They cannot return home, so they ask the police to help them," he said in an oral response in the Dewan Rakyat today. 

Still others had been rescued before but would then call the police, asking to be saved once more. 

Saifuddin said such cases made the authorities feel that their efforts had been in vain. 

As of Jan 26, the police had received 262 reports on 330 Malaysians caught in job scams who became stranded in other countries. 

Of these, 218 were rescued with efforts underway to bring the others home as well.