25/07/2025

BIZ & FINANCE FRIDAY | JULY 25, 2025

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Scams, mule accounts top threats to Apac banks

KLIA, Penang airport welcome five new international air services

KUALA LUMPUR: KL International Airport (KLIA) and Penang International Airport streng thened Malaysia’s position as a global aviation hub with the addition of five new international air services in June 2025. Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) said in a statement that two of the new services were introduced by new airline partners, enhancing cross-bor der connectivity and regional access. Cambodia Airways launched a twice-weekly service between Phnom Penh and Penang, while Juneyao Air began operating four weekly flights from Shanghai to KLIA, boosting travel options for passengers from China and the wider East Asia region. In addition, MAHB said three new routes were introduced by existing airline partners, re flecting continued confidence in Malaysia’s aviation market. “Batik Air Malaysia commenced a twice-weekly service between KLIA and Dili, Timor-Leste; AirAsia Cambodia introduced a thrice weekly route connecting KLIA to Sihanoukville; and AirAsia began operating four weekly flights between KLIA and Darwin, Australia,” MAHB said. In June, MAHB including its asset in Turkiye, Istanbul Sabiha

Gokcen International Airport (ISG) handled a total of 12.7 million passenger movements. “Of this, local airports in Malaysia contributed 68% or 8.5 million passenger movements, comprising 4.2 million international and 4.3 million domestic travellers. ISG recorded 4.1 million total pass enger movements, comprising 2.2 million international and 1.9 million domestic in June,”MAHB said. Meanwhile, on the local front, MAHB said Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport posted notable month-on-month growth in June, with passenger movements rising 9% from 138,000 in May to 151,000. The airport operator noted that international traffic at SZB grew by over 10% to 40,000 passengers, while domestic movements climbed nearly 9% to 111,000. MAHB attributed this upward trend to strong average load factors of over 70% on key regional routes operated by Firefly Airlines to Seletar, Scoot to Changi, and TransNusa Airlines to Jakarta. While the increased domestic travel was also spurred by the harvest festival in Sabah and Sarawak, as well as Hari Raya Haji celebrations coinciding with school holidays. – Bernama

while others are convinced to “rent out” their accounts in exchange for quick cash, not realising they are enabling financial crimes. In Thailand, more than 200,000 mule accounts were shut down in a single year. Singapore has introduced legislation that criminalises the supply of mule accounts and gives banks and authorities powers to act in real-time. The poll also found banks face internal barriers to detecting and responding to scams. The most common issue cited was siloed data (46%), followed by a lack of connected insights across products and channels (28%), and limited real-time integration with third party systems (13%). “Scam activity is often fast, fluid, and fragmented,” said Fico managing director of Asia-Pacific Dattu Kompella. “To respond effectively, banks need connected systems that provide a complete, realtime view of risk. Without breaking down internal silos and unifying insights across teams, many institutions will remain on the back foot.” The poll also explored bank leaders’ views on reimbursing scam victims. Just 14% said banks should fully reimburse customers in all scam cases. Half said compensation should only apply when the bank is at fault, while 36% supported a shared responsibility model between banks and customers.

o Fico poll reveals social media as key fraud channel while data silos hinder effective response

PETALING JAYA: A new industry poll by global analytics software leader Fico has found that scams and mule accounts have become the dominant threats facing banks across the Asia Pacific (Apac). Seven in 10 (69%) senior banking executives identified these forms of criminal activity as their greatest concern, reflecting the continued rise of scams in which victims are tricked into sending money directly to criminals. Unlike traditional fraud, which typically involves unauthorised transactions that banks can detect and block, scams often bypass existing defenses because payments are authorised by the victim. Once the money is sent, criminals rely on mule accounts to quickly move funds across institutions and borders, making recovery extremely difficult. The findings echo a growing alarm across the financial ecosystem, as scam-related losses reach historic highs across the region. In 2024 alone, Singapore reported more than S$1.1 billion (RM3.6 billion) in scam losses, a 70% surge from the previous year.

Thailand saw 60 billion (RM7.2 billion) in damages, while Malaysia’s losses were estimated at a staggering RM54 billion, or nearly 3% of gross domestic product. Similar trends were reported in the Philippines and Indonesia, where scam-related activity now dominates cybercrime reports. In a statement yesterday, Fico, a company that is a pioneer in the use of predictive analytics and data science to improve operational decisions, said the poll found that more than half of banking leaders (52%) view social media platforms as the top external threat vector for scams, followed by messaging apps (35%). In a region with more than two billion social media users, platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, and Telegram have become key channels for targeting scam victims and recruiting money mules. It said that criminal syndicates use these platforms to impersonate officials, promote fake investments, or advertise bogus job opportunities. Many victims are lured into schemes that appear legitimate on the surface,

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