PETALING JAYA, Aug 20 — Awareness campaigns on online fraud or scams need to be strengthened and expanded to remote areas to protect rural communities from cyber threats that are increasing due to widespread internet access.

Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil said efforts to raise awareness should not be focused on large-scale programmes in cities, but rather should be taken to the grassroots level through the involvement of Parent-Teacher Associations (PIBG), residents’ associations and Rukun Tetangga.

He said this approach was important to provide direct exposure to the community, including sharing true stories from victims of online fraud.

“Not everyone can come to the hotel to join the forum or awareness campaign, so we have to take this programme to the town halls, meet with the villages.

“When we provide Internet to remote villages, it means that even scammers can go to remote villages without leaving their workplaces, this is our challenge,” he said when speaking at the launch of the National Anti-Scam Awareness Programme 2026 here, today

Also present was the Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association (PPIM) chief activist Datuk Nadzim Johan.

Commenting further, Fahmi said for the period from Jan 1 to yesterday, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had requested the removal of 476,516 online contents involving various categories of offences.

He said that of the total, 302,139 were content related to online gambling, while another 128,312 were content with fraudulent elements.

He said Facebook recorded the highest number of fraudulent contents requested taken down, which is 67,115 contents or 52 per cent, followed by TikTok with 50,642 contents.

Fahmi said social media platforms have a role and obligation to ensure that their services are not misused for criminal activities of fraud or online gambling.

In this regard, he gave a stern warning that through the country’s online security legal framework, any platform that fails to ensure the safety of its users can face fines of up to RM10 million in court.

Meanwhile, Fahmi reminded victims of fraud to immediately contact the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) via 997, which now functions equivalent to a police report.

He said quick action, especially within 15 to 30 minutes after the incident, was important to increase the chances of the authorities blocking the transfer of money and returning it to the victim. — Bernama