Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil recently revealed that Facebook, TikTok, WhatsApp and Telegram have been identified as the most preferred platforms for scammers to commit fraud in Malaysia. He added that losses from scams and fraud on these 4 platforms had easily reached hundreds of millions of ringgit.
Bernama quoted the Communications Minister as saying that in 2023, around RM500 million of losses were estimated through scams on Facebook alone. Furthermore, the latest information has yet to be obtained, but overall, the amount is much larger.
Fahmi added that according to information from the Commercial Crime Investigation Department, there are approximately 14 different types of scams carried out through social media in addition to scam crimes in the form of phone calls and face-to-face meetings. He elaborated that the popularity of these four social media platforms among Malaysians is a major driver for criminals to commit fraud, as many users are easily deceived.
Hence, a large-scale online fraud awareness campaign will be implemented soon, starting at the school level. Besides that, other measures taken to address the issue include licensing social media platforms, tightening regulations, and introducing a new definition of scam crimes through amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Act, which was recently passed in Parliament.
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