Have you noticed a decrease in scam calls? MCMC says 1.6 billion of them have been blocked in the past four years

I’m not sure if I remember getting more scam calls a few years ago compared to the past four years. But the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) reports that they’ve managed to block 1.6 billion suspicious calls from reaching consumers between 2018 and 2021. That’s a lot of suspicious calls blocked.

The MCMC made the statement in a written reply at the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday, 3 March. The commission was replying to a question by Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar (PH-Hang Tuah Jaya) on the statistics of scam reports up to 2021—as well as the ministry has planned to ensure such telephone calls are monitored apart from being detected with the cooperation of telecommunication companies. They additionally stated that 2,232 public complaints on scam-related activities were received by MCMC and had been referred to “relevant enforcement agencies” from January to December 2021.

“The Royal Malaysian Police, the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, Security Commission and Bank Negara Malaysia were among the enforcement agencies,” continued the MCMC.

So, how did the MCMC try to stop suspicious calls from reaching customers in the past four years? According to the commission, communication service providers were “involved in a special task force” on telecommunication fraud. But there was no elaboration on what the special task force consisted of.

Despite their efforts, Malaysians had lost at least RM2.23 billion to scams in the last 5 years—from 67,552 cyber scam cases. Phone scams might not be a popular scammer tactic, not just because of MCMC’s efforts, but it’s due to the fact that a lot of scams are now being made online.

It’s not to say that phone scams are no longer a thing. In fact, we’ve reported on quite a few victims who’ve lost an incredible amount of money through phone scams.

MCMC also stated that they are currently “looking at the need to draw up new guidelines to curb fraud via SMS” in addition to reducing suspicious calls. You’re able to report phone and SMS scams to MCMC—and you’re also able to report online/phishing scams as well. Just remember to stay vigilant and look out for the red flags when you can.

[ SOURCE, IMAGE SOURCE ]

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