KUALA NERUS, Aug 22 — The Higher Education Ministry (Mohe) will expand awareness programmes across universities to prevent students from falling victim to fraudulent syndicates and acting as mule account holders, said Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapha Sakmud.
He said the Mohe takes the issue seriously, and will work to identify students whose bank accounts have been exploited by fraud syndicates.
“For now, we are relying on police to conduct investigations, while Mohe will focus on awareness programmes to inform students about the risks and how they may be exploited as mule account holders,” he said.
He said this after officiating the ESG Global Young Leaders Summit 2024 at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu here.
Regarding action against affected students, Mustapha said a case-by-case review will be conducted, and Mohe will offer assistance to those unaware of their involvement in such syndicates.
He said there is a possibility students from B40 families could be targeted by fraud syndicates.
Mustapha advised all students to exercise caution over calls or messages from unknown sources requesting personal information, including bank details.
It was recently reported police had identified 208,000 mule account holders in the country, some of whom are students.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf reportedly said students are particularly vulnerable to becoming mule account holders due to their tendency to have multiple bank accounts.
— Bernama
