The Ministry of Communications and Digital (KKD) revealed that nearly RM600 million in losses were recorded in Malaysia due to scams and other cybercrimes last year.
As a result, the ministry will focus more on educating the public to become more digitally literate to avoid becoming victims of online scams in the future.
Photo via Newswav
According to BERNAMA, its deputy minister Teo Nie Ching stated that cybercrime has become a serious problem in Malaysia. She also stated that the ministry is working on several initiatives to address the issue, including raising awareness through social media platforms like TikTok.
KKD will also collaborate with social media platforms to promote a programme called “Stop For Three Seconds” in February and March this year.
Teo added that the “three seconds” here is to help the community to think first whether the information they receive on the internet is real or fake.
Social media platforms will also help in the promotion of the National Scam Response Centre’s (NSRC) 997 hotline, a government initiative to assist victims of cybercrime in preventing losses, which will be operating for 12 hours a day.
The NSRC is a one-stop center staffed by representatives from Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), private banks, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) as well as the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM).
Woah, RM600 million is a lot of money!
What do you guys think of the government’s initiative to help combat online scams and other cybercrimes?
