KULAI: More than RM300mil has been lost to social media scams since 2021, says Teo Nie Ching.
The Deputy Communications and Digital Minister said in the first six months of this year, RM60mil was lost in Facebook-related frauds and RM25mil on Instagram.
She said while social media platforms provide great convenience to the public, it also puts the people at risk of cyber crimes.
“Many criminals are using social media for illegal activities and we hope the public will not easily fall prey to them.”
Teo said that in 2021, some RM80mil was reported lost in scams posted on Facebook and the amount increased to RM92mil the following year.
On Instagram, the losses rose from RM20mil in 2021 to RM25mil in 2022.
In view of the worrying trend, a meeting was held with representatives from Meta Platforms, which operates social media applications including Facebook and Instagram, recently, Teo said.
“These figures were presented to them to prove how serious the issue involving their social media platforms have become.
“We have sent a strong message to the representatives during the meeting and they promised to improve efforts to curb illegal activities,” she said after presenting a cheque to Kulai Ultimate MMA Fitness and Self-defense here yesterday.
On a separate matter, Teo said police had opened investigations on 38 cases in connection with online comments or posts that touched on the sensitive 3R (race, religion and royalty) issues.
Of the cases, 15 were religion-related, 14 on royalty and nine on race, she said.
“Another 95 cases in relation to online posts involving other sensitive issues are also being probed by the police,” she said, adding that her ministry and police would continue to monitor the situation.
Teo has urged all parties to stop making statements that touch on the 3R issues during the upcoming state elections.
“While the government respect and will continue to uphold freedom of speech, we hope the candidates will not use the 3R issues to bring emotional effects.”
