KUCHING, July 16: The increasing eCommerce rate in the country has resulted in more opportunities for online fraud and abuse, which account for 45.2 per cent of total complaints as of June 2021.
According to Deputy Minister for Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) Datuk Rosol Wahid, as much as the government’s promotion for the development of eCommerce, it also acts as a double edge sword where frauds, scams and other cyber-crimes via eCommerce and digital platforms have increased directly correlating to the digital business success.
“In 2020 alone, there were a total of 11, 511 (33.2 per cent) complaints on online transactions recorded by the Ministry which is an increase compared to 5,416 (24.7 per cent) complaints received in 2019 .
“This complaint has been steadily rising, and as of June 2021, it was one of the most frequent complaints received by the Ministry at 45.2 per cent of total complaints,” said Rosol in his speech when launching the “Taknakscam” campaign held via a virtual launching ceremony, today.
Rosol explained the ministry has played an active role which included law enforcement, consumer awareness engagement in various forums.
He said both the government and private sectors must be prepared to prevent an impending wave of fraud, and if no drastic measures are taken, the online scam will affect consumer’s confidence severely among others.
“A more holistic approach is needed to curb this issue that involves many cross agencies, and private sector collaborations.
“Therefore, today’s collaboration between the government and Facebook is very much welcomed and commendable. The government fully supports this #TakNakScam campaign initiative taken by Facebook Malaysia,” he added.
He pointed out that the #TakNakScam campaign will be going on for three months, starting from July until Sept 2021.
Furthermore, he continued, the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint’s which was officially launched on Feb 19, 2021, by the Prime Minister has envisioned Malaysia to be a regional leader in the digital economy to achieve inclusive, responsible, and sustainable socioeconomic development.
“Therefore, I hope we can continue to maintain this collaboration between all the public and private sectors, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), consumer associations and Facebook for the betterment of our nation’s eCommerce growth,” he said. — DayakDaily
