KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia will intensify efforts to raise public awareness of the various tools the government has implemented to assist victims of scams as the country continues its efforts to eradicate these criminal networks, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said on Thursday.

Photo taken on March 11, 2022 shows the scenery of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Photo: Xinhua)

Community service campaigns will be conducted in collaboration with several agencies and will be broadcast in cinemas, on television and radio stations in various languages, emphasizing the importance of lodging reports through the National Scam Response Center (NSRC), he told a press briefing.

He urged the public to continue contacting the NSRC hotline if they have made any suspicious transactions so that swift action can be taken to avoid further losses, adding that the public should be vigilant when encountering get-rich-quick schemes or requests to transfer money.

Earlier, the Home Affairs Ministry said the NSRC received 19,438 calls relating to online scams throughout January, with 2.408 billion ringgit (610 million U.S. dollars) of victims' funds successfully frozen before they could be siphoned off by criminals.