THE SCOURGE OF ONLINE SCAMS

By Chow Zhi En
Friday, 8th July 2022
Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2022/07/08/the-scourge-of-online-scams

INTERNET scams are a cat-and-mouse game, constantly evolving to circumvent security

measures set in place to stop them. From 2020 until May 2022, the Malaysian
Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) received 5,513 complaints on
scams. These complaints were referred to the appropriate authorities to monitor and take the
next steps within their jurisdiction.

What’s clear is that scams target people of all backgrounds, ages and even socioeconomic
status. MCMC network security division head Harme Mohamed shared that he too has been
a target of these scams. “I have received calls from scammers impersonating LHDN officers
and banks saying that I need to make a payment. “Knowing that I have paid my taxes, it was
obvious to me that it was a scam since I don’t have any outstanding payments, but it may be
a different scenario for others,” he said.

Online scams can be broadly categorised into two groups: cybercrime and cyber-enabled
crime. According to Interpol, cybercrime refers to attacks on computer networks, hardware
and software. Cyber-enabled crime refers to more traditional crimes that have been
amplified through the Internet such as financial crimes, human trafficking or even terrorism.

If scams work, it is because they seem authentic and are designed to catch you off guard.
With the proliferation of smart devices and increased Internet accessibility, scammers are
getting smarter. They take advantage of new technology, products or services and major
events, like Covid-19, to create believable stories to convince victims to transfer money or
share personal details.

Socially engineered to dupe

Malaysians will first have to recognise that scammers might impersonate your relatives and
friends or officials from organisations like banks, telco companies and government agencies.
Let’s start by breaking down the types of scams that plague Malaysians. Harme listed a few
common scams: phishing scams, romance scams and, lately, malware that intercepts
sensitive information through an APK (Android Package Kit) file. “These APK files can be
downloaded on most android files and are usually distributed on websites instead of secure
channels like the App Store and Google Play Store,” explained Harme.

“The objective is to steal your banking details as the APK contains malware that allows it to
read your SMSes. “Once that APK file is downloaded, the malware will override your
device’s SMS and intercept your one-time passwords between you and your bank. Victims
may be unaware that their funds are being transferred because of this. “Meanwhile, socially
engineered scams are effective in how they manipulate human nature and psychology. They
present a surprising set of believable stories, making them tricky to identify,” he added. By
staying alert and calm while armed with knowledge, you’ll be able to spot the flaws in their
lies.

How to protect yourself

Most importantly, you should not disclose your personal information so easily on social
media or any other online platforms. Remember that any official communications from
banks, telcos and government representatives will never ask you to disclose your
passwords, account numbers or credit card information. Scammers will try everything in their
arsenal to trick you into giving them your personal details.

“Our personal information may be collected in ways that we are not aware of. For example,
scammers may call their victims impersonating police or bank officers to ask for their
personal information, such as their full name, home address and identity card number,” said
Harme. “The unsuspecting victim will usually provide the requested information without
hesitation.”

If you encounter suspicious emails, never reply or click any links within the email. If you are
contacted via phone or SMS, do not provide confidential information. Another method to
protect yourself is by enabling two-factor authentication or biometric authentication –
especially for your financial accounts – to prevent your account from being stolen.

If you think you have been scammed, change your passwords, delete any questionable
software on your device and make a police report. You are not alone in dealing with these
online scams. MCMC regularly conducts monitoring and enforcement actions to curb
fraudulent activities which adversely affect consumers and relevant industries through the
following initiatives:
A special task force for telecommunication fraud in collaboration with telecommunication
service providers and the police.
> An industry reference document in 2018 which outlines seven restriction rules to reduce
the number of suspicious calls and the addition of five restriction rules in 2020 to restrict calls
reaching consumers.

With cooperation from telcos, a total of 1.6 billion suspicious calls have been successfully
blocked from reaching consumers. MCMC is actively drafting new guidelines to curb fraud
through SMS. At the same time, several awareness campaigns were also held in
collaboration with telcos and the police through SMS, social media and broadcasting
platforms (TV and radio).

Awareness programmes like Klik Dengan Bijak (Click Wisely) and Malaysian ICT Volunteer
(MIV) will continue to raise public awareness with the latest advocacy messages, especially
on educating the community including youth and young children about the modus operandi
of fraudsters.

Based on the above news, answer the following questions:

You may remove the lines while typing your answers and underline your answers
again once you have done.
1. Why do you think that scams target people of all backgrounds, ages and even
socioeconomic status?
Scammers are able to impersonate anyone they want, they can lie to their victims and come
up with different scenarios such as lying to them about any outstanding payments. Some
might not fall for it but it’s also different for everyone.

2. “If scams work, it is because they seem authentic and are designed to catch you off
guard”. Based on this statement, what can you paraphrase?
Scams that are able to do so because they seem genuine and are manufactured to surprise
you.

3. “The objective is to steal your banking details as the APK contains malware that allows it
to read your SMSes. “Once that APK file is downloaded, the malware will override your
device’s SMS and intercept your one-time passwords between you and your bank. Victims
may be unaware that their funds are being transferred because of this. “Meanwhile, socially
engineered scams are effective in how they manipulate human nature and psychology. They
present a surprising set of believable stories, making them tricky to identify,” he added. By
staying alert and calm while armed with knowledge, you’ll be able to spot the flaws in their
lies.
Based on this excerpt, what can you summarize?
The APK contains malware that reads SMSes, overriding device’s SMS and intercepting
one-time passwords between bank and victim. Socially engineered scams manipulate
human nature and psychology, making them difficult to identify. Staying alert and
knowledgeable can help spot flaws in their lies.
4. Amongst the initiatives made by the MCMC to protect consumers from becoming scam
victims, as a consumer, which initiative do you think is the most effective, and why is it
effective in protecting yourself?
As a consumer, I think the most effective initiative made by MCMC is running campaigns in
collaboration with telco and the police through SMS, TV and Radio. With this I’m able to be
aware about the rising cases of scams while also receiving new information on how to
protect myself better from these scammers.
5. In your opinion, why do you think people are still tempted to trust scams even though they
are aware of the consequences?
In my opinion, it’s because sometimes people do hope that these scams are real, because of
scammers people nowadays have a fear of picking up calls from random numbers or
replying to back unknown messages. However sometimes those calls could actually be
important calls which makes them tempted to answer the phone even though they are aware
the chances of them accepting it.