There has been a dramatic increase in investment scams and unlicensed activities since 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the world. This is based on data collected from the Securities Commission Malaysia's (SC) Investor Alert List (IAL) with a programming language known as Python.
It is worth noting that the figures on the IAL are not official figures published by the SC and do not present the full picture of investment scams and unlicensed activities in the country.
The results show that the number of scams and unlicensed activities on the IAL had never exceeded 50 from 2003 to 2019. However, it surged to 168 in 2020, which is a 730% rise from only 23 in 2019. It continued its upward trajectory to 280 in 2021 and 283 in 2022.
The number does not include 26 outliers, which are scams and unlicensed activities not referred to in a particular year or referred to in more than a year. These unlicensed activities include unlicensed digital asset exchanges (DAX) that facilitate cryptocurrency trades among individuals.
As at end-April,the number of scams and unlicensed activities in the country stood at 98, indicating that the number could break a new high by year end.
Clone entities, or those that impersonate legitimate investment firms and financial institutions, mushroomed to 96 in 2022 over the previous two years (78 in 2021 and 14 in 2020). Prior to 2020, no clone entities were listed on the IAL.
It is observed that many investment scams and unlicensed activities are partly conducted through Telegram, a social media app like WhatsApp that allows users to remain anonymous and have more control over their messages and images.
Read further on The Edge’s article attached.
