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Malaysian financial institutions have recognised 68 outstanding bank employees for their exceptional vigilance and dedication in shielding customers from fraudulent activities
The workers were celebrated at the #JanganKenaScam Bank Heroes Recognition Event 2026, which took place today, 10 June.
Working diligently across 14 different domestic and Islamic banking institutions, these personnel successfully prevented more than RM139 million in fraudulent transactions throughout 2025.
Their daily operational roles involved identifying highly suspicious transactions, executing physical interventions in potential scam cases, and safeguarding everyday consumers from devastating financial losses.
The annual recognition ceremony, now entering its second consecutive year, serves as a core pillar of the broader #JanganKenaScam campaign
This nationwide public awareness initiative was originally co-launched in 2023 by the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) and the Association of Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM).
Organised in close cooperation with the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) of the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), the event highlights the crucial security framework and knowledge-sharing partnerships established between law enforcement agencies and commercial financial operators to combat modern commercial crimes.
The front-line defence provided by branch staff, combined with newly implemented technological safeguards, has drastically improved the banking ecosystem's overall fraud resilience
Syed Ahmad Taufik Albar, Chairman of the National Taskforce to Combat Fraud and Group CEO of Community Financial Services at Maybank, revealed that the industry recorded a 46% year-on-year increase in successfully blocked fraudulent transaction attempts in 2025 compared to 2024.
He added that the total value of prevented fraudulent transactions climbed sharply to RM1.19 billion, representing an impressive three-fold year-on-year increase, reflecting the industry's efforts to keep pace with an increasingly sophisticated digital threat landscape.
CCID Director Dato' Rusdi bin Mohd Isa echoed these sentiments by praising the strong collaboration between banks and police investigators
He emphasised that ongoing data-sharing and tight operational alignment have significantly enhanced the public's defence against rapidly evolving scam threats.
Beyond human intervention, the industry has experienced significant success through the deployment of structural security tools built directly into modern banking applications.
The joint industry report outlined the specific real-world impact of several high-profile anti-scam security features that have been rolled out to the Malaysian public over the past few years
The 'Money Vault' or 'Money Lock' function has been adopted by more than 38,000 customers nationwide, effectively securing over RM600 million in strictly protected, immutable accounts.
Concurrently, updated malware shielding capabilities integrated into mobile banking apps successfully stopped more than 60,000 malicious software-related scam attempts, effectively mitigating approximately RM22 million in potential losses.
In tandem with these automated barriers, consumer-activated safety options have proven invaluable in emergency scenarios. The specialised 'Kill Switch' functionality has been independently activated by roughly 300,000 users across various platforms, saving close to RM7 million in potential losses.
To build on these numbers, modern platforms are increasingly incorporating online security self-service check facilities, allowing users to evaluate their account safety health independently and correct risky settings
This is supported by separate self-service security tools that track device sessions and login activities.
Moving forward, the financial sector plans to pair these system upgrades with focused cybersecurity education campaigns targeting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to guard local businesses against advanced phishing and scam variations.
