Deputy Home Minister II Jonathan Yasin told the parliament on 30 November that the accused were mostly Malaysians.
More than half have been charged in court
Bernama reported that of the 993, 912 were locals while the remaining were foreigners.
"Some 605 people have been charged,” he reportedly said when replying to a question from Datuk Mohamad Alamin (BN-Kimanis).
The minister, however, did not have the details of the ages of those involved and said his ministry will conduct a study on the matter.
He also said that the police is constantly working with other parties such as the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), Bank Negara Malaysia, telecommunication companies and banking institutions to combat online scams.
A cybercrime technical committee was also set up in March 2019, where the police and MCMC are involved in monitoring onlince scam and keeping up with the latest trends.
According to a report by The Star, Malaysian have been conned of RM256 million this year alone.
Macau scammers often introduce themselves as policeman, bank officer, PosLaju worker and use various other identities that could get you to give them information you usually wouldn't divulge.
The next time you get a call from unknown numbers, please be weary. We have to be extra vigilant to twart these scammers.