RM160mil lost to rogue lawyers over four years

PETALING JAYA: They were supposed to ensure their clients’ best interests, but some rogue lawyers have swindled 167 of them to the tune of RM160.1mil in the last four years.

Since 2021, 113 men and 54 women have been cheated by such lawyers, be it in managing their funds or through property deals, said Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf.

ALSO READ: Report bad lawyers, urge the good ones 

“In 2021, we recorded 39 cases of criminal breach of trust (CBT) involving lawyers, with losses reaching RM56.3mil, followed by 30 cases with RM11.7mil in losses in 2022 and 35 cases in 2023 involving RM29.7mil in losses.

“Last year, 62 cases were recorded – the largest amount of losses so far in a year at RM62.8mil.

“As of Jan 15, a case with RM92,000 in losses has already been recorded.

“So, in the last four years, losses involving crooked lawyers have reached RM160.19mil,” the Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director told The Star yesterday.

ALSO READ: Pay attention to attorney background when hiring

Comm Ramli said the police have detained 53 lawyers involved in CBT since 2021.

“A total of 167 victims have been swindled by crooked lawyers since 2021. Those aged above 60 is the largest aged group victimised at 42, followed by those aged 41-50 (39), 31-40 (35), 51-60 (34), 21-30 (16) and one from the 15-20 age group.

“The victims’ occupations ranged from businessmen and teachers to retirees and others working in the private sector,” he added.

Comm Ramli said an example of lawyers swindling their clients would be in mismanaging their funds.

“A dishonest lawyer might use funds or assets belonging to clients for personal use.

“We had a case in September last year where a 47-year-old female company director lodged a report that a law firm in Kuala Lumpur had duped her.

“She had hired the firm to manage four civil suits against her. In early 2023, the courts issued a Mareva injunction against her assets,” he said.

(A Mareva injunction is a court order which effectively freezes the assets of a defendant to prevent them from being disposed of, pending the outcome or completion of a legal action.)

“The suspect, who is the firm’s owner, offered to transfer her assets and cash temporarily to the firm while the civil suits were going on.

“She then transferred her funds and luxury items worth RM19mil to the suspect. However, towards the end of 2023, she decided to no longer retain the lawyer’s services and asked the suspect to return her cash and valuables.

“The suspect failed to do so and gave various excuses, leading the victim to suspect he had misused her funds and assets,” he added.

Another victim was a 51-year-old property consultant who lost RM833,473, said Comm Ramli.

“He lodged a report in Johor on Aug 6 last year. In 2013, the victim had hired a law firm as a stakeholder to receive service fees charged to his clients. A bank account under the law firm’s name was created, and RM833,473 in fees were transferred to the account.

“In 2017, the victim was investigated and charged by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the bank account was frozen. However, the victim was acquitted in May last year, and the account was unfrozen.

“In June last year, the victim demanded that the law firm return his funds, but they failed to do so. In fact, in July, the lawyer claimed to be having financial troubles,” he said, adding that both cases were investigated under Section 409 of the Penal Code for CBT.

Comm Ramli said the police are seriously looking at CBT cases involving lawyers.

“While the number of cases seems small, the losses suffered by the victims are quite significant.

“A criminal act committed by a professional individual, entrusted to safeguard funds or assets, should not happen,” he said.

While the police will focus on enforcement, Comm Ramli urged the Bar Council to review procedures, work processes, their ethical code and other aspects to close any loophole that could be exploited, to curb and prevent such cases from occurring.

“We had a few meetings and discussions with the Bar Council, and we hope they are making improvements.

“Such efforts are crucial to ensure clients are not victimised,” he said.

Stricter enforcement by the authorities and disciplinary action by the Bar Council against lawyers who have committed offences must be consistent, he added.

“This includes scheduled audits on funds management and documents handled by lawyers to ensure no abuse is occurring.

“A simple-to-use reporting system must be provided to enable clients or a third party to report any wrongdoing or suspicious behaviour by a lawyer,” he said.

Comm Ramli also called on the Bar Council to take sterner disciplinary action against lawyers who go against their professional ethics.

“Those convicted of fraud or CBT must be handed a heavy punishment such as suspension or revocation of their licence to practise law,” he said.

Comm Ramli said awareness and education for clients on their right to legal services are also important.

“Clients must be given detailed explanations such as ways to check the background of their lawyer and ensure they are choosing one registered with the Bar Council.

“They must also understand the legal agreements they are signing,” he added.

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Related stories:

• Report bad lawyers, urge the good ones
• Pay attention to attorney background when hiring

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Rogue lawyers cheated 167 clients over RM160 million  

Beef up cybersecurity now

 

Cyberattacks likely if action not taken, says bukit aman

KUALA LUMPUR: Companies and organisations must beef up cybersecurity to prevent breaches and cyberattacks, says Bukit Aman.

Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf (pic) said cyber attacks are quite prevalent worldwide with millions of attacks per year and tens of thousands daily.

“Thus, it is imperative for companies and organisations to beef up their cybersecurity systems such as firewalls to prevent breaches.

“If it is not done, sooner or later, an organisation or entity might face a cyberattack,” he told The Star recently.

Comm Ramli said the CCID is working closely with other agencies such as Cyber Security Malaysia and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to take action on data breaches.

He said the CCID managed to bust a syndicate that attempted to sell stolen data in September.

“We detained five men, including a Pakistani, in an operation codenamed Ops Kapas, with other agencies, including Cyber Security Malaysia.

“The syndicate stole 400 million pieces of data of Malaysians, including names, MyKad, addresses, bank accounts and phone numbers.

ALSO READ: Smaller firms lack budget for cybersecurity

“They had hacked systems used by companies and agencies to obtain the data.

“Those who want access to the data are charged between RM200 and RM800 per month,” he said.

(Click To Enlarge)

Investigations showed the syndicate was operating for about a year.

“Two of those detained – a Malaysian and a Pakistani – were a web portal designer and a hacker.

“Three other individuals were agents and unlicensed debt collectors, who bought the stolen data,” he said.

Investigations showed the Pakistani man as the syndicate’s mastermind due to his hacking skills.

“We believe he entered Malaysia as a general worker 10 years ago,” he said.

Comm Ramli said syndicates are using the “shadow world” of the Internet to look for potential customers of the stolen data.

ALSO READ: Shields up around Malaysia’s cyberspace

“The syndicate would sell the stolen data on the dark web to other syndicates such as scammers as well as unlicensed debt collectors,” he said.

Meanwhile, checks by The Star on the dark web showed that transactions are made using cryptocurrency, particularly bitcoin, which makes following the money trail difficult.

Among the finds on the dark web was the alleged sale of staff members’ and customers’ data of a low-cost airline.

Another search result showed that hackers have sourced the login ID of users of different banks from different countries and were promoting their service which includes transferring any amount of money for a fee.

“We have gathered bank logins of different banks and countries as a result of automated Malware/Trojan we spread online once the individual logs into his/her online banking account, it grabs the person’s banking details, it is very powerful and can get access to accounts, bank database and bank server,” the promotional literature of the service read.

(Click To Enlarge)

“With these services, you just place an order to get any amount you need and we will look up the bank login we have available and make transfers to any account you provide.

Our services are efficient, reliable and safe,” it said, adding that bank transfers are available to countries such as Malaysia, the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, China and Switzerland.

These hackers are charging US$450 (RM1,990) for bank transfers amounting to US$2,000-US$4,000 (RM8,848-RM17,696); US$750 (RM3,318) for bank transfers amounting to US$5,000-US$7,000 (RM22,122-RM30,969) and US$1,050 (RM4,645) for bank transfers amounting to US$8,000-US$10,000 (RM35,393 - RM44,241).

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Clamping down on mule accounts;' Onus is on banks to prove unauthorised transactions'

 Law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said said losses from online fraud crimes over the past three years totalled more than RM2.65 billion.

PROPOSED amendments to the law were tabled in Dewan Rakyat with the aim of clamping down on the use of mule accounts for illegal activities. 

The move is seen as a measure to address the alarming rise in online financial fraud cases.

Those convicted under the new offences could face fines of up to RM150,000 and 10 years in jail.

The Penal Code (Amendment) Bill 2024 and Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment) Bill 2024, which were tabled for the first reading by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reforms) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, will also see stiff penalties being imposed against those involved in such activities.

Under the amendments, several new sections – 424A, 424B, 424C and 424D – were included under the Penal Code for offences related to payment instruments or accounts at financial institutions.

“The proposed new section 424A seeks to provide for the offence and penalty for possession or control of any payment instrument of another person or any account of another person at a financial institution without lawful authority or lawful purpose,” the Bill read.

Those found guilty could face a fine of between RM5,000 and RM50,000, imprisonment of between six months and five years, or both upon conviction.

The proposed new section 424B states the offence and penalty for allowing another person to control or possess payment instruments or an account at a financial institution without lawful authority or purpose.

This offences is punishable by a fine of between RM10,000 and RM100,000, a prison term of one to seven years, or both upon conviction.

Under subsection 424C(1), individuals who directly or indirectly engage in transactions using their payment instruments or accounts for unlawful purposes can be punished with a prison term of three to 10 years or a fine of between RM10,000 and RM150,000 or both.

As for unlawful transactions conducted using another person’s payment instruments or account, Section 424C(1) states that those guilty could be fined between RM10,000 and RM150,000 or face a prison term of between three and 10 years or both.

The financial institutions under the proposed laws refer to licensed banks under the Financial Services Act, licensed Islamic Banks under the Islamic Financial Services Act and the institutions prescribed under the Development Financial Institutions Act with payment instruments also designated by the respective Acts.

A new section, 116D, was also proposed under the Criminal Procedure Code, which would empower a police officer not below the rank of sergeant to seize or prohibit dealings involving money held or suspected to be held in any payment instrument or account at financial institutions.

The police officer can act if they have reasonable cause to suspect that an offence has been committed if the money has been used or is intended to be used to commit an offence or if the money constitutes evidence of an offence.

The second reading is scheduled for the current Dewan Rakyat meeting.

According to data from the Legal Affairs Division, there were a total of 266,230 reports on mule accounts while 146,772 bank accounts were identified as mule accounts.

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'Onus is on banks to prove unauthorised transactions' 

Banks bear burden to probe unauthorised transactions, not victims, says Lim 

The burden to conduct a detailed probe to prove any unauthorised banking transaction lies with the banks and not the victim of financial scams, say. The burden to conduct a detailed probe to prove any unauthorised banking transaction lies with the banks s Lim Hui Ying and not the victim of financial scams, says Lim Hui Ying.

Clamping down on mule accounts;' Onus is on banks to prove unauthorised transactions' said this in response to a question from Chong Chieng Jen (Pakatan Harapan-Stampin) during Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (July 9).

“Scam victims do not need to prove that the transaction is real. That is for the bank to prove,” said the Deputy Finance Minister in response to a question from Chong Chieng Jen (PH-Stampin) during Question and Answer Time.Chong asked the Finance Ministry to state whether it had any intention to amend existing laws so that banks were held responsible for the full or partial losses suffered by victims of financial fraud or scams.

Lim said quantum of compensation by the banks would take into consideration the outcome of investigations of each case and the effectiveness of the security controls implemented by the banks to address financial fraud.

“If the financial loss is solely due to the negligence and weaknesses of the bank, then the bank must be fully responsible for the loss,” she added.

She said if the scam victim disagreed with the bank’s decision and compensation offer, the account holder had the right to take the matter up with the Ombudsman for Financial Services.Besides this, Lim said banks had implemented several measures since June 2023 to safeguard account holders, including ensuring that every banking transaction complies with security features such as confirmation of transactions with clients, providing transaction notifications to clients and strengthening fraud detection rules to identify suspicious transactions.

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ONGOING CYBER THREATS

 

 

 

After years of data breaches exposing individuals’ personal information, cyberthieves will increasingly use that information to attack businesses in 2022, according to the Identity theft resource Centre’s predictions for the coming year.

` “We also tracked a record number of data breaches and a steady flow of new victims of unemployment benefits identity fraud long after the enhanced benefits ended,” said eva Velasquez, president and CEO of Identity theft resource Centre.

` Velasquez anticipates an increase this year in the number of people who have been victims of identity theft multiple times. And she warned of particular risk ahead as people change how they pay for things.

` “Look for cybercriminals to take advantage of the shift to alternative digital payment methods, such as payment apps, digital wallets and peer-to-peer services,” Velasquez said.

` With cryptocurrency becoming increasingly popular, scammers will find new ways to steal from consumers, according to the resource centre, which is a US nonprofit that tracks data compromises and provides free assistance to victims.

` The centre’s predictions for 2022 include:

• ` l An accelerated shift from identity theft to use of already stolen personal information and credentials to commit identity fraud and attack businesses.
  
• ` l Consumers may shift away from some online transactions and email communications due to the increasing problem of phishing, which is when cybercriminals use a fraudulent email or website to masquerade as a legitimate business or person.
• ` l the effects of pandemicrelated fraud will continue into 2024, with some fraud cases taking years to resolve and unemployment compensation fraud efforts likely becoming permanent.
• ` l ransomware, when hackers use malicious software to infect and lock a computer network and demand demand money to restore access, may surpass phishing as the top cause of data breaches.
• ` l Supply chain attacks, which is when malware infects a single organisation that is linked to multiple others, will become more common.
• ` l Single incident attacks will impact greater numbers of individuals, including social media account takeovers that victimise followers and networks.

` “All of these trends point toward increases in identity fraud that will change consumer behaviours, revictimisation rates and pandemicrelated identity crimes for years to come,” Velazquez said.

` “We expect to see these types of cyberattacks and who they target continue to evolve as they did in 2021.”

` The resource centre called for wider consumer education efforts and improved data protection. the number of publicly reported data compromises was already higher last year than in all of 2020. the centre’s third quarter report shows that as of Sept 30, 2021, data compromises rose by nearly 17% over all of 2020. the report found that nearly 281.5 million people were victims last year. there were 1,291 data compromise events in 2021, compared to 1,108 in all of 2020. the record is 1,529 in 2017.

` In November, the resource centre released data showing that 16% of 1,050 US adult consumers surveyed took no action after receiving a data breach notice, according to the survey by the resource centre and Dig.works, a consumer research company.

` Fewer than one-third of survey respondents had frozen their credit at one time for any reason and only 3% did so after receiving a data breach notice, the survey found. 

– Journal-news, Hamilton, Ohio/tribune News Service

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