MCMC blocks 1.6 billion suspicious calls, records 92 fake news cases

SHAH ALAM – The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has successfully blocked 1.6 billion suspicious calls from reaching users.

MCMC Network Security Division Chief Harme Mohamad said the act of scamming through online or offline means was among the mediums used by scammers to convince victims.

He said between 2020 and May 2022, MCMC had received up to 5,513 complaints regarding scams.

He said the complaints received were referred to relevant enforcement agencies for further attention and actions under their jurisdiction, which includes the police, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry (KPDNHEP), Security Commission (SC), the Central Bank of Malaysia (BNM) or other agencies subject to the forms of the fraud carried out.

Harme said it was difficult to know whether the scam took place and most of the time, the scammers successfully tricked their victims.

The scammers now would use new tactics such as using applications such as Telegram and Viber to prevent themselves from being caught.

"The usage of these two applications caused the suspect's digital footprints to be untraceable.

"They are slick and quick to adjust themselves with the current situations and toying with the thoughts and emotions of the victims," he said.

He explained that the misuse of identity represents the main element of a scammer in tricking their victims by posing as a kidnapper, bank officer or family friend along with the creation of fake websites which looked like the real ones.

There were scammers that targeted specific social media accounts to bring monetary losses to the victims.

Harme said the MCMC recorded as many as 92 cases of fake news with six being convicted in courts between the year 2020 and May 2022.

He stressed that the government would not tolerate any party that has spread fake news causing fear, panic or provoked the public.

The actions would be taken starting with the reports received and will follow an evaluation process towards the investigative actions if there are any elements of fault.

He said the process would take time until the sentence was decided, which depended on the facts and results of the case investigations.

"The Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA1998) is one of the legal instruments used in regulating the fabrication, publication and transmission of false content or news," he said.

He explained the steps to ensure the improvements to the existing provisions will be carried out on an ongoing basis to ensure provisions of the relevant laws are in line with the current circulation.

In addition, he said the Sebenarnya.my portal was created by the commission not only acted as a source of reference for many in determining the credibility of the viral news but a means of conveying information about current crimes and crimes that could occur online through the 'Waspada' column.

Until May 31 2022, a total of 370 articles have been published in the 'Waspada' section to inform regarding any information or reminder to the public to stay vigilant towards online scams.

"The Cyber Crime Committee will continue to be mobilised leading to a more strategic and structured action between PDRM and MCMC. Both sides are working to address the issue of social media abuse effectively," he said.

Other programmes in the form of awareness mobilised by the MCMC to educate the public in avoiding the misuse of social media.

Among them were the Click Smartly (KDB) program, The Truth Campaign (Truth campaign, Freedom of Speech Is Not Used For Lies) and Malaysian ICT Volunteer (MIV).