KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 18 — Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil along with CyberSecurity Malaysia, CelcomDigi, and Anti-scam Action Coalition (GBAS) today launched the National Anti-scam Campaign 2023 to counter scam syndicates’ evolving methods.

"The police have informed us that there are 48 types of scams, including online, phone calls, or physical interactions, and they will keep changing and evolving,

"So the most important thing is the public’s reactions toward them and we will work on raising awareness through the campaign,” said Fahmi, adding that the public should report to the authorities if they received any form of messages or phone calls that came from unverifiable sources.

The Lembah Pantai MP also said that the campaign will involve other media as they plan to broadcast anti-scam materials through various media outlets.

He added that Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Azmi Abu Kassim advised him to constantly remind the public about scamming issues through media broadcasts to tackle fraud crimes.

Meanwhile, the minister said Malaysia is mulling to create an ASEAN-wide framework to regulate data transfer and international government and police cooperation to combat scam groups.

"I just came back from the ASEAN Digital Ministers Meeting that was held in the Philippines, and all the ministers there agreed that one of the top issues they are facing is scam and fraud,” said Fahmi during his speech at the launching ceremony in CelcomDigi Tower.

He added that syndicates often look for loopholes in the law to operate in the country and a regional framework that is applicable to all jurisdictions can help prevent this.

"Certain ways will work for Malaysia, but not for our neighbours, but if we understand that the scam issues are affecting all of us.

"Perhaps we can all update our laws accordingly and close these loopholes,” he said.

When asked by reporters about the issue of data theft in Malaysia, Fahmi said there’s a need to strengthen the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (PDPA) and cyber security.

"All organisations that are involved in data, such as commercial transaction and safekeeping will face serious penalties if they fail to protect their data,” said Fahmi.

Last year, the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (JSJK) of Royal Police Malaysia recorded 19,034 reports related to cyber and multimedia crime that involved a financial loss of RM593 million.

JSJK has received a total of 1,563 cyber and multimedia crime reports this year involving a loss of RM48 million.