NST Leader: Curbing online scams

New Straits Times

18 hours ago

THE National Scam Awareness Survey 2024 results may have been published a year ago, but judging from the number of scam victims in the country, they certainly have missed the lessons there.
As far as awareness goes, the survey noted, Malaysians receive top marks, but where we fail is in translating this awareness into action. When a call comes through, claiming to be from the police, for example, mitigation measures go out the window.
There is a reason for this. Malaysians as a society defer to authority. The Hofstede Cultural Dimension Index, which measures the power distance — the extent to which status and authority are respected — in a company, community or country, proves this.
Out of a total of 120, Malaysia scores 100, pointing to a society where authority is deeply ingrained. Where power distance is high, people are less likely to question authority.
But this doesn't mean one should fall for fake police or Inland Revenue Board (IRB) calls. These and other authorities have gone public with their announcements that they do not make such calls. Now that the people know that the calls are fake, they should end the call the moment the one at the other end says it is the police or IRB calling.
What is perhaps harder to mitigate is when scammers use advanced technologies such as deepfake videos. According to a 2024 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, such technology-driven scams are a hidden and accelerating transnational crime in East and Southeast Asia.
From 2022 to 2023, the Asia-Pacific region is said to have seen a 1,530 per cent jump in deepfake fraud. Malaysia took note of this growing menace, with the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) issuing a warning to the public of deepfake investment scams impersonating prominent personalities and reputable companies.
We applaud the SC for working with Meta to remove the deepfake videos. Quick action by our authorities goes a long way in curbing scams. We hope telecommunications companies will do the same.
There are far too many fraudulent scams in our messaging apps that they don't seem to take notice of. Telcos have a moral duty to act on behalf of their customers. Here are some pointers from the SC.
The scammers typically start by posting deepfake videos on social media platforms, which can then be disseminated across messaging apps. Through the use of artificial intelligence, the videos are manipulated to resemble the voices of public figures, lip-syncing included, making the investment schemes appear real.
Then follow "Learn More" links, sign-up pages, and so on, which are all aimed at robbing the victims of personal data and money. The takeaway is this: be vigilant.
Sure, scammers are at the cutting edge of technology, but it doesn't mean awareness can't be turned into action. Power distance or otherwise, vigilance is the answer.
What else can be done? As a first step, our authorities must work with social media companies to remove such fraudulent postings. Our telcos must do the same.
Just posting "awareness notices" isn't enough. More is needed. Finally, as social media companies are not likely to self-police such things, the governments hosting them must hold them to account for online criminal activities.