MOSTI warns of impersonators asking for payment

Malaysia's science and technology ministry, MOSTI, said on 26 October 2026 that it has received several complaints about people using the ministry's name and the identity of its officers to ask for payment and to carry out dealings the ministry has not approved. If someone claiming to be from MOSTI asks your company for money, confirm it with the ministry first.

What did MOSTI say?

In a media statement, MOSTI said a name, logo or official identity used without permission does not prove that the ministry is involved or has approved anything. All official dealings go through the ministry's own channels and procedures.

The ministry asks the public and industry to check through its official channels before making any payment or acting on a message that looks suspicious.

Who should pay attention?

Any business that supplies goods or services to government, or hopes to, should take note. A request that seems to come from a ministry can feel urgent and hard to question, so staff may pay before anyone checks. Treat messages that use the name of any other agency with the same care.

What to do

1. Do not pay any fee, deposit or "processing charge" just because an email, letter or WhatsApp message carries the MOSTI name or logo.
2. Call the ministry yourself. MOSTI says questions and checks go to its Procurement Section, Finance Division, at 03-8885 8164, 8072, 8373, 8506 or 8208. Use these numbers, not a number given in the message.
3. Look closely at the sender's email address. Note the exact domain and compare it with the one on the ministry's official website.
4. Tell your finance and sales staff about this notice, so a request that skips your usual approval steps gets stopped and checked.
5. If you already paid, call your bank at once and make a police report.

Fake requests often arrive by email first. Our spam-filtered business email catches many of them before they reach staff. You can also read our guide on how to spot a fake invoice email.

Source and credit

We are sharing this news from Kementerian Sains, Teknologi dan Inovasi (MOSTI). This summary is written by Synctech in our own words.

• Penyalahgunaan Nama dan Identiti Pegawai Kementerian Sains, Teknologi dan Inovasi (media statement), MOSTI, 26 October 2026: https://www.mosti.gov.my/siaran-kenyataan-media/penyalahgunaan-nama-dan-identiti-pegawai-kementerian-sains-teknologi-dan-inovasi/

Retrieved 28 October 2026. Synctech is not connected with MOSTI. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. If anything here is wrong, email support@synctech.com.my and we will correct it.