Malaysia sees drastic increase in scam calls

MALAYSIA recorded a 100.92% increase in scam calls last year with 1,632,290 cases compared to 812,428 the previous year.

Data from Whoscall’s 2023 Annual Report revealed that out of the seven Asian countries, Malaysia is the second top country with an increase in scam calls after Hong Kong followed by Japan in the third spot.

However, other Asian countries such as Taiwan, Thailand, Korea, and the Philippines are seeing a decrease in scam calls.

Whoscall is a digital anti-fraud app under the TrustTech service provider Gogolook.

"Despite the increased risk of scam calls in Malaysia, Whoscall managed to help its users by identifying and adding the “scam” tagging to 1,632,290 calls in 2023.

"However, 10.35%, equivalent to 168,946 users, still chose to pick up the tagged scam calls," said Man Yong, the Country Marketing Lead of Gogolook Malaysia.

She said the police (PDRM) is a long-term strategic partner of Whoscall and works closely in database sharing to combat cases of fraud among Malaysians.

PDRM Anti-Scam Ambassador Rahmat Fitri Abdullah said phone scams are the leading online scam cases with over 2,092 cases with losses amounting to RM65.8 million in just the first two months of 2024.

Another popular tactic is link or URL scams that are shared through messaging apps.

"We urge Malaysians to be alert and think twice before clicking on any links.

"With generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) now used to create fake content, it is becoming hard to differentiate the authenticity of information shared.

"Malaysia is now seeing emerging trends in AI-based scams by manipulating news where scammers take real news footage and alter the audio clip to achieve a certain goal, such as producing positive news on an investment opportunity to win trust.

"More Malaysians are falling for this trick," he said.

Man Yong said scam tactics will continue to evolve alongside rapid technological advancement, and it will be harder to differentiate what is safe or real and what is not.

"The use of technological tools to assess risks and ensure information security is becoming one of the most efficient ways to safeguard against online scams," she added. – The Vibes, April 18, 2024.