Kuala lumpur: 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 announced this initiative, which aims to enhance support for scam victims as online scams continue to rise.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Teo Nie Ching emphasized the alarming trend, with 46,817 scam-related advertisements detected this year as of July 15. She highlighted that a call to 997 will now be considered a police report, removing the necessity for victims to file an additional report at a police station. This change is expected to save victims significant time and effort, she noted during a press briefing after reviewing a drainage project in Kampung Melayu Bukit Batu.

Teo further disclosed that 80 percent of scam advertisements are identified on Facebook, often exploiting the identities of high-profile individuals. In the previous year, 6,297 fraudulent advertisements were removed from various social media platforms. She shared her personal experience of being a victim when her photos were used in deceptive ads offering free books by the former Education Minister.

Despite the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) taking action to remove such ads, Teo expressed dissatisfaction with Meta for the reappearance of similar scams on different accounts.