He said losses from scams and fraud committed on these four platforms had easily reached hundreds of millions of ringgit.

“In 2023, the estimated total fraud through Facebook alone was around RM500 million. We do not have the latest information as of now, but overall, the amount is much higher.

“According to information from (Bukit Aman’s) commercial crime investigation department, there are about 14 different types of scams carried out through social media in addition to scam crimes in the form of phone calls and face-to-face meetings,” he said following an event here today.

Fahmi said the popularity of these four social media platforms among Malaysians is a major driver for criminals to commit fraud, as many users are easily deceived.

As such, he said, a large-scale online fraud awareness campaign will be implemented soon, starting at the school level.

“The campaign aims to raise awareness among parents and students about safe social media usage and how to avoid becoming victims of scams,” he said.

Fahmi said several other measures have also been taken to address the issue of scam crimes, including licensing social media platforms, tightening regulations, and introducing a new definition of scam crimes through amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Act, which was recently passed in Parliament.

“We believe these measures will assist the police and related agencies in taking more stringent action, thus reducing the occurrence of scam crimes,” he said.