Nor Halimaton Sa’adiah Abdul Halim noted that 95% of online fraud involves victims confirming transactions themselves, including phishing and malware attacks. Malaysia has strengthened identity verification from SMS OTP to more robust systems, introduced cooling-off periods for transaction review, and implemented kill switch mechanisms to freeze accounts in emergencies. Authorities have also promoted shared responsibility between banks, telecoms, social media platforms, and users, so that losses are mitigated when banks cannot prevent fraud in time.
Oramon Janthapan explained that detection and prevention alone are insufficient. The key is to build resilience at the individual, societal, and systemic levels. Banks are mandated to issue continuous alerts and provide financial literacy to customers. Digital finance curricula are being introduced in schools, while partnerships with social media influencers extend outreach. New legislation also enables the creation of a Financial Risk Data Hub, connecting data from banks, telecoms, and online platforms to close gaps in information sharing.
The symposium concluded that digital financial threats cannot be addressed by any single organisation. Success requires full-system collaboration across government, finance, technology, and end-users. Public awareness, caution, and vigilance are essential to prevent increasingly sophisticated scams. In the words of the organisers, “prevention is the best shield”, ensuring that cybercriminals cannot gain a foothold in the digital economy.