Malaysia recorded RM1.224bil in losses from online crime and scams from January to October, says Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching.
Speaking at the launch of the “Teens, Tech, and Trust: Navigating Social Media in Malaysia” white paper in Kuala Lumpur on Monday (Dec 16), Teo said scammers have now begun posing as representatives of the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC), falsely claiming they can help recover stolen money.
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Speaking at the launch of the “Teens, Tech, and Trust: Navigating Social Media in Malaysia” white paper in Kuala Lumpur on Monday (Dec 16), Teo said scammers have now begun posing as representatives of the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC), falsely claiming they can help recover stolen money.
Read more at https://tinyurl.com/2t65cjff
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar
LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline
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NewsTranscript
00:00From January to October this year, Malaysia recorded 1.224 billion in losses on my scam.
00:16Yes, it's 1.2 billion ringgit, including scams targeting both teenagers and adults.
00:23Scams such as love scams and divestment fraud prey on people's vulnerability.
00:28Alarmedly, scammers have now begun posing as representatives of the AGC to record,
00:36falsely claiming they can help recover stolen money.
00:40Victims, desperate to record their losses, often forfeited scanty-scandalous scams,
00:46further compounding their financial worth.
00:49Let me make this clear, ladies and gentlemen, if you will.
00:53The AGC does not provide such services.
00:57These scammers exploit hope and also desperation, and they must be stopped.
01:03The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission has been proactive in addressing these issues.
01:10This year alone, MCMC worked with the platform providers to remove 255,745 pieces of helpful content.
01:24Scams made up 21.5% of this content, second only to online gambling, which accounted for 63.6%.
01:36And despite this effort, the problem stays.
01:40For instance, 274 sponsored scam posts, falsely posing to be AGC agents,
01:48were removed from Facebook in just one week.
01:51The fact that these posts would take advertisements highlights the indirect complicity of platform providers,
02:00such as Meta, which profit from such content.
02:04Obscene online content, especially those involving child sexual abuse, is another alarming issue.
02:12From December 2022 to December this year, 1,947 such cases were removed.
02:2071.2% of which involved child exploitation.
02:25This figure, though shocking, likely underestimates the true extent of the problem.
02:32As a mother, this is deeply concerning, and I am committed to doing more to safeguard our children.
02:41Ladies and gentlemen, I think Seri's white paper is going to tell us or show us the complexity of social media use among teenagers
02:51that provides valuable recommendations for addressing this risk while attaining the benefit.
02:58The recommendations offer a strong foundation for future policies and initiatives aimed at fostering online safety and well-being.
03:07Moving forward, we will continue working closely with all stakeholders to develop innovative solutions beyond regulations,
03:17focusing on empowering teenagers with tools for safe and responsible digital engagement,
03:24and providing timely support for those facing harm.