Scam calls are phone calls made by individuals or organizations who try to obtain personal information or money from the recipient under false pretenses. These calls can take many forms, including impersonating a government agency, a bank, or even a family member in need of financial assistance.
Bernama reports that the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) of Bukit Aman, the national police headquarters in Malaysia, has announced a partnership with Whoscall, a mobile application, to tackle online fraud.
The call identification app created by My Gogo and Look Sdn Bhd will inform users of calls from unknown sources, according to CCID director Datuk Seri Kamarudin Md Din.
He added that as a result of the partnership, Whoscall would identify phone numbers listed in the JSJK Semakmule System database as scammers.
Currently, the app has over 90 million users and they also worked with authorities from several countries to tackle fraud calls and messages.
The app can identify and block suspicious SMS messages as well by detecting dangerous links and keywords. Users can report phone numbers that they think may be associated with scams or suspicious activity, and they can also check numbers manually against the Whoscall database to identify potential threats.
According to Kamarudin, the number of criminal instances of online fraud dropped to 20,041 cases in 2018 from 20,701 cases in 2021.
However, he claimed that both the number of arrests and the amount of money lost had climbed, with 13,371 arrests last year resulting in a loss of RM684,574,056.73 compared to 9,991 arrests in 2021 with a loss of RM560,813,575.94.
It is important to be cautious when receiving unsolicited phone calls and to never give out personal information or send money to unknown parties. If you suspect that a call may be a scam, hang up and report the incident to the authorities.
Whoscall is available for Android phones and iPhones.
