Compiled by BENJAMIN LEE and C. ARUNO
FACEBOOK is the top platform for scammers to cheat unsuspecting victims, with Malaysians being set to lose more than RM120mil to scams on the social media site this year, Sin Chew Daily reported.
According to the Communications and Digital Ministry (KKD), Malaysians lost a total of RM80mil and RM92mil to scams on Facebook in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
As of June 2023, losses totalled RM60mil and are expected to exceed RM120mil by year-end if the trend continues.
By comparison, Malaysian victims have lost RM20mil and RM25mil on Instagram in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
Deputy Minister Teo Nie Ching blamed Meta, the company operating Facebook, for poor regulation of its accounts and advertisements for the rise in scams.
“If Meta is strict in enforcing its rules, there will be fewer people using this platform to conduct scams. This indirectly reduces Meta’s profit,” she said.
She urged the tech conglomerate, which also operates Instagram and WhatsApp in addition to Facebook, to ensure that users remain safe on its platform.
Those who have been scammed can call 997 for help or report the incident to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission at https://aduan.mcmc.gov.my/#/public/main.
> Hong Kong actress Jacqueline Wong continues to live in an apartment in a prime location despite having been out of work the past four years, China Press reported.
The 34-year-old shared a photo online of her apartment overlooking the sea, which prompted online speculation about her actual net worth.
Wong is known to be an avid investor in real estate.
In 2017, she reportedly bought a unit at Victoria Skye, an upmarket apartment in the Kai Tak New Area for HK$8.55mil (RM5mil).
It was later sold for HK$10mil (RM5.9mil) in 2022.
She is also known to have property in Hong Kong’s Yau Tong residential district and in Canada.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.
