Telcos should be penalised for failing to stop scam activities

SHAH ALAM - Consumer advocates are calling on the government to impose tougher penalties on telecommunication companies (telcos) that fail to prevent scam activities, which have become a "silent epidemic" in Malaysia, affecting thousands of victims nationwide.

Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association chief activist Datuk Nadzim Johan said strict enforcement by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) was needed to ensure telcos took full responsibility for phone number registration and monitoring, which were often exploited by scam syndicates.

He said the lack of control by telcos has allowed scammers to operate freely, including using foreign numbers without valid verification.

He also emphasised that telcos allowing improper registration of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards should face fines of up to RM50,000 to ensure they took the matter seriously.

Nadzim added that weak monitoring systems and poor user identity verification have made enforcement challenging.

He said the effort to combat scam activities required coordinated action between MCMC, the police and Bank Negara Malaysia.

“If all the agencies act together and take preventive action before scammers strike, this issue can be stopped.

“But if they wait until after it happens, it will take longer to resolve,” he said.

He also urged MCMC and the police to take proactive and aggressive measures to control the growing number of telecommunications-related scams.

He called for the MCMC to take a more proactive approach by blocking suspicious numbers immediately instead of waiting for reports, adding that authorities often acted only after incidents have already occurred.

Nadzim pointed out that the current reactive approach has caused many victims to lose their savings and continued to be targeted by scammers.

He said scammers today used advanced and complex tactics, including artificial intelligence, various communication apps and international numbers to deceive their targets.

“The consequences are devastating. Some victims have even considered suicide after losing their savings.

“Many of them are retirees who have lost their life savings and can no longer work due to their age,” he said.

He added that scammers often lured victims with small transactions of around RM500 but end up deceiving dozens of people in a single day.

Most victims, he said were senior citizens and government retirees who easily believed fake calls claiming to be from bank officials or authorities.

“Young people are affected too, but the majority are retirees. They have just received their pensions and are easily convinced.

“The question is, how do these scammers know they have large sums of money?,” he said.