The thirty seconds before you hit transfer is the only cheap moment in the entire transaction. After that, the money is somebody else's problem to chase — usually yours.
Semak Mule is a free portal run by the Royal Malaysia Police that exists for exactly that thirty seconds. It checks a bank account number, phone number or company name against a database of details reported in commercial crime and fraud cases. It takes less time than reading the seller's reviews.
What Semak Mule actually is
Semak Mule is operated by PDRM's Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID). It compiles bank account numbers and phone numbers that have been reported as involved in commercial crime or fraud cases, and lets the public query that database.
The official portal is at semakmule.rmp.gov.my. It is also listed on the government's own services directory as the Scammer Account Verification Portal.
Note the word reported. The database reflects reports that have been filed. That has two consequences, and both matter.
How to check an account, phone number or company
The process is short.
- Go to the official portal at semakmule.rmp.gov.my. Type the address in directly rather than following a link from a message — fake lookalike portals are a known problem
- Choose what you are checking — bank account number, phone number, or company name
- Enter the detail exactly as it was given to you. No spaces, no dashes, no guessing at digits
- Submit the check and read the result
A result comes back immediately. If the detail appears in the database, you will see that it has been reported. If it does not appear, you will see that too.
Check the account number, not just the name. Scam listings on marketplaces frequently recycle a legitimate-sounding business name while the receiving account belongs to someone else entirely.
What a clean result does and does not mean
This is the part people get wrong.
A clean result means no report has been filed against that detail yet. It does not mean the account is safe. A fresh mule account that has not yet been reported returns clean, and that is precisely the account a well-run scam will use.
A positive result, on the other hand, is close to conclusive. If a bank account or phone number is already in the CCID database, do not transfer. There is no explanation worth listening to.
Treat Semak Mule as one filter among several, not a green light. Combine it with the ordinary checks: does the seller accept payment to a business account rather than a personal one, will they meet, does the price make sense, and does the pressure to decide quickly feel manufactured. Our checklist for buying a used phone covers the same instincts applied to one specific transaction.
If you have already transferred the money
Speed is the only variable you control.
Call the National Scam Response Centre on 997 immediately. The NSRC exists to attempt to freeze funds in transit, and the window is measured in the first one to two hours after the transfer. Every minute after that reduces the chance of recovery.
Call your bank at the same time through the number printed on your card, and tell them a fraudulent transfer has just been made.
Lodge a police report. You can do this at the nearest station, or online — we walk through the process in how to lodge a police report online in Malaysia. The report number is what banks and CCID will ask for at every subsequent step.
Contact CCID. The department can be reached at 03-2610 1599 or 03-2610 1559.
Keep everything. Screenshots of the conversation, the listing, the transfer receipt, the account number and the phone number. Reconstructing this later from memory does not work.
Report the account so the next person is warned
The database only works because people file reports. When you lodge your police report, the account number and phone number you provide are what eventually make that detail queryable by someone else standing where you were.
This is the unglamorous civic part of it. The check you ran only returned useful data because someone before you did the paperwork.
A note on your own accounts
Mule accounts are frequently not opened by scammers directly. They are opened, sold or lent by ordinary people — often students or job seekers responding to an offer of easy money for the use of a bank account.
Letting someone else use your account is not a grey area. If your account is used to receive criminal proceeds, it is your name on it. Banks freeze accounts flagged as mules, and the consequences follow the account holder. Building a habit of checking your own credit and banking footprint, as covered in how to check your CCRIS and CTOS report, is a reasonable annual routine.
FAQ
Is Semak Mule free?
Yes. It is a public service run by PDRM's Commercial Crime Investigation Department and there is no charge to run a check.
What can I check on Semak Mule?
A bank account number, a phone number, or a company name, against details reported in commercial crime and fraud cases.
Does a clean result mean the seller is genuine?
No. It means no report has been filed against that detail. New mule accounts return clean until someone reports them. Use it as one check among several.
What number do I call if I have already been scammed?
The National Scam Response Centre on 997, as fast as possible — the first one to two hours matter most. Also call your bank and lodge a police report. CCID can be reached at 03-2610 1599 or 03-2610 1559.
How do I know I am on the real Semak Mule site?
Type semakmule.rmp.gov.my into the address bar yourself. The .rmp.gov.my domain is the police one. Do not reach the portal through a link sent to you in a message.
Sources: Scammer Account Verification Portal — malaysia.gov.my, Semak Mule — PDRM, Money Mules — Maybank
