997 hotline

KULAI — The public, especially victims of online scams, are urged to use the 997 hotline, which will operate 24 hours as the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) under the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) from September.

Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said the move is expected to improve assistance for victims amid the rising trend of online scams, with 46,817 scam-related advertisements detected this year as of July 15.

She said a call to 997 will now be treated as a police report, eliminating the need for victims to lodge a separate report at a police station.

“This will save victims time and hassle,” she told reporters after inspecting a concrete drainage project to address flash floods at Kampung Melayu Bukit Batu here today.

Teo said 80 per cent of scam ads are detected on Facebook, often misusing names of high-profile individuals. Last year, 6,297 fraudulent ads were removed across social media platforms.

She added she was also a victim when her photos were used in fake ads offering free books by the former Education Minister.

“Even after the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) removed the ads, other accounts uploaded the same scam. I am unhappy with Meta for allowing this to continue,” she said. — BERNAMA