The Consumer Protection Framework of Macau Scam in Malaysia
Abstract
Technological advancements have enabled the rise of various fraudulent schemes, with the Macau or phone scam becoming particularly prevalent in Malaysia. Regardless of the extensive publicity surrounding the Macau scam, every individual is susceptible to becoming a victim. Macau scam poses a significant threat, causing victims to lose their hard-earned money and suffer severe financial and psychological consequences. Hence, the primary aim of this study is to explore the consumer protection framework that safeguards consumers from Macau scammers. The investigation encompassed the current legislation and institutions pertaining to the Macau scam, which includes the existing laws and institutions related to the Macau scam. Document analysis was employed to collect information from government reports, journals, articles, laws, and other relevant materials concerning scams. The research findings suggest that the current consumer protection framework regarding the Macau scam in Malaysia can be further enhanced. Such improvement can be accomplished by strengthening the current legislation and advocating for measures to educate consumers.
References
Akhbar, S. (2021, 19 Oktober). Macau Scam sudah di tahap krisis nasional? Bernama. https://www.bernama.com/bm/tintaminda/news.php?id=1891294
Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (2021, September 27). Losses reported to Scamwatch exceed $211 million, phone scams exploding. [Media Release]. https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/losses-reported-to-scamwatch-exceed-211-million-phone-scamsexploding.
Alarming increase in scam calls found in Thailand. (2023, April 8). The Nation. https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40026460
Bidgoli, M. & Grossklgs, J. (2017). “Hello. This is the IRS calling:” A case study on scams, extortion, impersonation, and phone spoofing. 2017 APWG Symposium on Electronic Crime Research (eCrime), Scottsdale, AZ, USA, pp. 57-69, doi: 10.1109/ECRIME.2017.7945055.
Chiew, S. Singapore and Malaysia sign MOU to tackle scams across telecommunications channel. (2024, Feb 26). The Edge. https://www.theedgesingapore.com/news/telecommunications/singapore-and-malaysia-sign-mou-tackle-scams-across-telecommunications
Commission for Communications Regulation. (2023). Combatting scam calls and text. https://www.comreg.ie/media/2023/06/Consultation.pdf
Consumers International. (2020). Social media scams: Understanding the consumer experience to create a safer digital world. https://www.consumersinternational.org/media/293343/social-media-scams-final-245.pdf
Conway, L. (2021). Consumer protection: Online scams. House of Commons Library Briefing Papers (HC 2021-9214). Retrieved from https://library-guides.ucl.ac.uk/harvard/parliamentary-paper
European Commission. (2020). New Consumer Agenda. Strengthening consumer resilience for sustainable recovery. https://www.europeansources.info/record/new-consumer-agenda-strengthening-consumer-resilience-for-sustainable-recovery/
Farahanim, M.A. & Tengku Elena, T.M. (2023). Anatomy of phone scams: victims’ recall on the communication phrases used by phone scammers. Proceedings of the International Conference on Communication and Media 2022 (i-COME 2022), 498-509. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-098-5_43
Gainsbury, S.M. (2019). Identifying risky internet use: Linking negative internet experiences to specific online behaviour. New Media and Society, 21(6), 12-32.
Goh, P.P. (2019, August 9). Coaches keep Macau scam syndicates ‘a few steps ahead of the law’. New Straits Times. https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2019/08/511435/coaches-keep-macau-scam-syndicates-few-steps-ahead-law
Hancock, J. (2022). Fighting Fraud: Breaking the Chain. https://www.finextra.com/blogposting/23277/fighting-fraud-breaking-the-chain
Harun, H.N., Sallehudin, Q, & Mohamed Radhi, N.A. (2023, February 15). Anti-scam hotline logs almost 17,000 reports, involving RM40m losses, since October. New Straits Times, https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2023/02/880108/anti-scam-hotline-logs-almost-17000-reports-involving-rm40m-losses
HM Government. Fraud Strategy: Stopping Scams and Protecting the Public. (2023). CP839.
House of Lords and the Digital Fraud Committee. (2022). Fighting Fraud: Breaking the Chain. HL Paper 87.
Huang, T. H. D., Yu, C. M., & Kao, H. Y. (2018). Data-Driven and Deep Learning Methodology for Deceptive Advertising and Phone Scams Detection. In Proceedings - 2017 Conference on Technologies and Applications of Artificial Intelligence, TAAI 2017 (pp. 166-171). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.. https://doi.org/10.1109/TAAI.2017.30
Hubbard, T., Reeves, A. & Birch, A. (2023, May 16). UK fraud strategy: loud bark, little bite? https://www.regulationtomorrow.com/eu/uk-fraud-strategy-loud-bark-little-bite/
Indonesia named third-worst spammed country in the world. (2019, December 7). The Jakarta Post. https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2019/12/07/indonesia-named-third-most-spammed-country-in-the-world.html
Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah Komersil. (2022, 6 Januari). Kenyataan Media Pengarah Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah Komersil Modus operandi baharu penipuan “Macau Scam.” Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/JSJKPDRM/photos/pcb.379400100624641/379405807290737/
Lam, A. (2019, November 29). What is the ‘Macau scam’? Macau Daily Times. Available at: https://macaudailytimes.com.mo/what-is-themacau-scam.
Lu, H. Y., Chan, S., Chai, W., Lau, S. M. & Khader, M. (2020). Examining the influence of emotional arousal and scam preventive messaging on susceptibility to scams. Crime Prevention and Community Safety, 22(4), 313–330, 2020, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41300- 020-00098-3
Macau Scams: Msians duped out of RM256 million this year. (2020, November 16). New Straits Times. https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2020/11/641653/macau-scams-msians-duped-out-rm256-million-year
Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commissions. (2022). Integrated annual report. https://www.mcmc.gov.my/skmmgovmy/media/General/Report/MCMC-AR-2022_Eng.pdf
Mohd Yunus, N.S. (2022, September 26). Governor's Speech at the Launching of Financial Crime Exhibition. Bank Negara Malaysia. https://www.bnm.gov.my/-/financial-crime-exhibition-speech-en
Mouton, F., Leenen, L., & Venter, H.S. (2016). Social engineering attack examples, templates and scenarios. Computers & Security, 59(2), 186-209.
Muhammad Basir, R. (2020, October 12). Expert: Important to recognise modus operandi of Macau scams. Bernama. https://www.bernama.com/en/features/news.php?id=1888770
Muhammad, S. (2022, December 13). Banks expected to fully implement BNM’s measures to combat online scams by June 2023. The Edge. https://theedgemalaysia.com/article/banks-expected-fully-implement-bnms-measures-combat-online-scams-june-2023-%E2%80%94-abm
Muhammad, S. (2023, March 27). Losses from financial scams totalling RM39m reported from October 2022 to January 2023, says Anwar. The Edge. https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/660994
Nasaruddin, N.I. & Zulkefly, A.Z. (n.d.). Legal Implications/Remedies in Relation to Common Business Scams in 2020. https://www.azmilaw.com/insights/legal-implications-remedies-in-relation-to-common-business-scams-in-2020/
Norris, G., & Brookes, A. (2021). Personality, emotion and individual differences in response to online fraud. Personality and Individual Differences, 169(1), 109-847.
Nurul Hidayah, B. (2020, Mac 29). Hati-hati sindiket penipuan KWSP. Harian Metro. https://www.hmetro.com.my/mutakhir/2020/03/559890/hati-hati-sindiket-penipuan-kwsp
OECD (2020). Financial Consumer Protection Policy Approaches in the Digital Age: Protecting consumers’ assets, data and privacy. www.oecd.org/finance/Financial-Consumer-Protection-Policy
Peter, Z. (2023, December 23). Southeast Asian scam hubs drawing global scrutiny as reach grows. Voanews. https://www.voanews.com/a/southeast-asian-scam-hubs-drawing-global-scrutiny-as-reach-grows-/7409758.html
Phone scams. (2024, March). Which? https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/phone-scams-aL1Yy5L9Utl4
Shaari, A. H., Kamaluddin, M. R., & Paizi, W. F. (2019). Online-dating romance scam in Malaysia: An analysis of online conversations between scammers and victims. GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies, 19(1), 97–115, DOI: https://doi.org/10.15520/jro.v6i 9.23.
Tan, B. (2023, December 19). Scams on the rise in Malaysia: Survey finds phone calls most popular route, followed by WhatsApp. Malay Mail. https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2023/12/19/scams-on-the-rise-in-malaysia-survey-finds-phone-calls-most-popular-route-followed-by-whatsapp/108274
Tan, T., Vethasalam, R., & Yusof, T.A. 2.6 billion scam calls blocked by MCM so far. (2023, Oct 18). The Star. https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2023/10/18/26-billion-scam-calls-blocked-by-mcmc-so-far
Tang, L. (2024, February 18). Scam cases in Singapore jumped almost 50% in 2023, most victims fell for job, e-commerce cons. Channel News Asia. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/scams-2023-increase-50-percent-job-e-commerce-measures-4128051
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. (2018). Manual on Consumer Protection. https://unctad.org/webflyer/manualconsumer-protection
Yeoh, A. LHDN warns of SMS scam targeting Bantuan Prihatin Nasional recipients. (2020, April 3). The Star. https://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-news/2020/04/03/lhdn-warns-of-sms-scam-targeting-bantuan-prihatin-nasional-recipients
Wan Sulaiman, W.S., Murad, F.A., Mat Saat, G.A., Khairudin, R., Mohamed Mokhtar, D.M., Mariamdaran, S., Shaari, A.H. & Kamaluddin, M.R. (2022). Development and validation of victimisation risk inventory (SVR-I) among Malaysian population. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues, 25(S5), 1-15.
Whitty, M.T. (2020). Is there a scam for everyone? Psychologically profiling cyberscam victms. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 26, 399-409.
Williams, T. (2023, April 12). Expert says AI scams are on the rise as criminals use voice cloning, phishing and technologies like ChatGPT to trick people. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-12/artificial-intelligence-ai-scams-voice-cloning-phishing-chatgpt/102064086
Williams, E. J., Beardmore, A., & Joinson, A. N. (2017). Individual differences in susceptibility to online influence: A theoretical review. Computers in Human Behavior, 72(1), 412-421.