Fahmi: Scammers most rampant on Facebook, TikTok, WhatsApp, Telegram

TUMPAT, Jan 20 — Facebook, TikTok, WhatsApp, and Telegram are the four online platforms identified as the most preferred spaces for scammers to commit fraud, according to Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.

He said that losses from scams and fraud committed on these four platforms had easily reached hundreds of millions of ringgit.

“In 2023, the estimated total fraud through Facebook alone is around RM500 million. As of now, the latest information has yet to be obtained, but overall, the amount is much larger.

“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.”

Fahmi said this after officiating the Ihsan MADANI programme here, which was also attended by Communications Ministry secretary-general Datuk Mohamad Fauzi Md Isa and Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) chief executive officer Datin Paduka Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin.

Elaborating, Fahmi said 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.

As such, he said that a large-scale online fraud awareness campaign will be implemented soon, starting at the school level.

“The campaign aims to raise awareness among parents and students about safe social media usage and how to avoid becoming scam victims,” he said.

Fahmi said that several other measures have also been taken to address the issue of scam crimes, including 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.

“We believe these measures will assist the police and related agencies in taking more stringent action, thus reducing the occurrence of scam crimes,” he added. — Bernama