Telegram the top choice of scammers with over 1,300 cases, says CCID director

KUALA LUMPUR: Telegram is the platform of choice for online scammers, according to Bukit Aman.

Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said 16 social media and messaging applications were commonly used by scammers and Telegram topped the list with 1,346 cases linked to it.

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Comm Ramli urged technology and service providers to be more responsible with the content being uploaded on their platforms, in particular online scams.

"This has already been enforced overseas with the recent charging of the CEO of Telegram in French courts for allowing criminal activities to be conducted on the platform.

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"Perhaps it is time for us to have the same approach due to the flood of unverified content which has become a threat to society," he told a press conference at CCID headquarters here on Friday (Sept 6).

In a related matter, Comm Ramli said a 49-year-old man had been duped in an online investment scam, losing nearly RM5mil.

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The victim, a company director, was offered an "investment opportunity" in December 2022 with promised annual returns of up to US$2.9mil (about RM12.5mil).

"Swayed by the offer, the complainant then made a transfer of RM4,328,750 into an overseas account that belonged to the 'investment company'.

"However, until today he has not received any returns," Comm Ramli said.