(KPL/VNA) Criminal activities, notably online frauds, accounts for 57% of all cybercrimes, mainly commercial-related cases, Executive Director of the ASEAN Chiefs of Police (ASEANAPOL) Secretariat David Martinez Vinluan has said.

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency's reporter at the 14th ASEANAPOL Contact Persons Meeting (ACPM), which is being held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, he emphasised that ASEANAPOL's purpose is to find effective ways to prevent this type of crime.

The model of the Singaporean anti-cybercrime police force presented at the conference is a good reference, he said.

Singapore has established an Anti-Scam Centre (ASC) which connects with major banks so they can easily block accounts when they notice or receiving reports about signs of fraud. Besides, international cooperation is also very important to handle the situation as quickly as possible, Vinluan added.

ASEANAPOL has enough database to exchange between member countries, thereby being able to identify the locations of cybercriminals and take law enforcement actions to bring these subjects to prosecution.

According to Vinluan, besides professional methods that require the involvement of the police, the media also plays an important role, elaborating that it should adopt social networking platforms to raise people’s awareness on cyberspace, as well as how to use the network intelligently.

A report presented by Singapore's anti-cybercrime police show that Singapore has lost over 2.6 billion USD due to this type of crime in the past seven years. Singapore's ASC defined three pillars related to online fraud are banks, telecommunication providers and online marketplaces. Accordingly, the centre will connect with these pillars to handle the situation.

With the rapid development of digital technology, especially artificial intelligence (AI) in establishing algorithms, the number of crimes relating to cyberspace has increased in both scope and scale with sophisticated tactics. In 2023 alone, the world is estimated to lose 1,026 billion USD, equivalent to 1.05% of the global GDP.

Lasting until July 5, the ACPM is set to deliberate on strategic cooperation in combating transnational organised crime within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Key areas of focus include compiling reports assessing the related situation and trends, implementing initiatives for cooperation in training and enhancing law enforcement capacities among member states' police forces, and expanding strategic partnerships with international organisations sharing common goals in the matter.

KPL