KUALA LUMPUR - Victims of online scams have no shortcuts to recovering their lost money.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigations Department (CCID) director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said that only case investigators were authorised to handle the recovery process and the process to recover scammed funds were far from straightforward.
"I must emphasise that there is no fixed timeframe for recovering stolen funds, nor is there any shortcut to this process other than following the stipulated legal procedures.
"The return of funds can only be conducted by the investigating officers in accordance with legal provisions," he told Sinar on Friday.
Ramli highlighted that the process requires adherence to several established protocols.
He said funds could be returned to victims under the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) Act 593.
The relevant sections include Section 435 CPC (for seizure purposes) and Section 413 CPC (for applications to recover funds).
"First, victims must file a police report. The police will then investigate, submit an application to the court and await a court order directed to the bank.
"This entire process does not happen overnight. Filing a report today doesn’t mean the money will be returned tomorrow. It involves a timeframe that cannot be predetermined," he said.
Ramli also noted that some victims complicate the process by failing to file formal police reports.
"Some victims report incidents to the National Scam Response Center (NSRC) hotline at 997 but fail to lodge an official police report. This hampers efforts to recover their funds.
"Victims who contact the NSRC must also report the incident at their nearest police station to enable actions like fund blocking and eventual recovery," he added.
Ramli warned scam victims to avoid falling prey to third-party services that claimed they could recover stolen funds.
"Some victims, having already been scammed, are duped again by parties claiming to offer recovery services.
"There are no third parties, whether agents, NGOs, or other entities, appointed to handle fund recovery for victims," he stressed.
However, Ramli assured the public that the police prioritise protecting victims and bringing scammers to justice.
"We understand that scam victims want their money back, and ensuring they reclaim their rightful funds is a priority for us," he said.
Separately, Ramli revealed that approximately RM46 million has been successfully blocked by the NSRC.
Of this amount, RM510,000 was returned to scam victims between 2022 and July this year.