News & Reviews:   scam

As expected, scams about the RM100 aid by the Malaysian government have recently surfaced. The Communications Ministry has sent out a warning over a wave of fraudulent websites and social media posts impersonating government portals to exploit the public’s interest.

In a proactive move to combat the surge of online fraud, the Malaysian government is exploring legislation that would require advertisers on social media platforms to verify their identities, according to Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching.

Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil has revealed that Facebook, TikTok and YouTube have agreed to remove 159,518 pieces of harmful content as of 11 June in Malaysia. He added that this figure was part of 174,473 online content takedown requests made so far this year.

Today, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), under the Ministry of Communications, announced that it removed a total of 40,920 pieces of fake and scam-related content from online platforms between January and April 15 this year. These include 10,493 items identified as fake content and 30,427 related to scams.

The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) has revealed that online fraud cases in Malaysia have caused losses exceeding RM19 million from 1 January to 24 March this year. Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) acting director Datuk Rohaimi Md Isa added that online fraud cases have also risen by 36.9% compared with the same period last year.

Maybank has issued a warning to the public about a scam using its name. The scam involves the distribution of phishing emails and SMS messages that appear to be official messages from Maybank. The emails and SMS messages contain links to fake websites that trick people into making payments by revealing their credit or debit card details. So, what should you know about it?

Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari yesterday revealed that a total of 5,091 online fraud cases were recorded in the state last year. Speaking at the Selangor Legislative Assembly (DUN), Amirudin said that the cases resulted in losses amounting to RM386,426,494.32.

Previously, we reported on the cheekily named Scammers On Hold AI (SOHAI) chatbot created by Malaysian entrepreneur and Replyr.ai founder Dylan Tan, an AI chatbot that targets scammers and infinitely wastes their time on WhatsApp. Well, it looks like scammers have struck back against SOHAI, as its account has been banned by WhatsApp.

The Malaysian founder and CEO of Singapore-based Replyr.ai, Dylan Tan, recently took to the Entrepreneurs and Startups in Malaysia Facebook group to share a new chatbot he created that is aimed at fighting scammers. An AI chatbot that will “infinitely waste scammers’ time on WhatsApp”, it’s hilariously named “Scammers On Hold AI” or “SOHAI”.

Love scam happens quite often in this digital world but this one takes the cake. It was reported that a French woman lost $850,000 (~RM3.8 million) to a Brad Pitt impersonator.