SHAH ALAM – The government is urged to review and amend existing digital laws to ensure telecommunications companies are also held accountable in cases involving online scammers, which have become increasingly rampant in the country.
Cybersecurity expert and International Women’s Alliance for Family Institution and Quality Education deputy president Dr Amirah Ismail said the move would align Malaysia with practices in several countries such as the United Kingdom and Singapore, which have already introduced specific laws to regulate digital fraud activities.
“Another recommendation is for the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to intensify investigations into companies selling unapproved communication devices and to take firm action to curb the sale of devices that can be used for fraudulent activities.
“Collaboration between MCMC, police, Bank Negara Malaysia and telecommunication companies must also be strengthened to speed up enforcement action against scam-related activities,” she said when contacted by Sinar on Sunday.
Amirah, who is also a senior assistant professor at Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali, Brunei said establishing dedicated anti-scam units within each relevant agency should also be considered to ensure faster and more coordinated action.
Another cybersecurity expert, Aaron Ikram Mokhtar said the government needed to strengthen enforcement by making it mandatory for all telcos to adopt the Call Authentication Framework system, a method already practised abroad to verify caller identities and reduce the use of fake numbers.
He also suggested that telcos be required to set up artificial intelligence-based monitoring centres to detect suspicious call patterns in real time and block them before they reach consumers.
“MCMC could also introduce guidelines outlining the liability of telecommunication companies, such as imposing penalties if they fail to block numbers reported as scams within a certain timeframe.
“In addition, the SIM verification and eKYC processes must be tightened, with SIM card registration requiring biometric scanning and verification through the national digital identity system (MyDigital ID) to prevent fake registrations,” he said when contacted.
Aaron also emphasised the importance of enhancing public awareness and cyber literacy through continuous programmes such as CyberSmart Nation to help communities better understand scammers’ modus operandi.