If firm action has being taken then why do we still keep receiving scam calls?

 

DESPITE the authorities and telcos telling the public they are taking firm action to combat phone scams why does it still keep happening? Why are the people especially senior citizens still getting robbed of their precious nest egg?

The immediate, hard questions that need to be asked by our authorities, including our elected lawmakers, are:

When will telcos be made accountable for scam calls coming through their own network? Isn’t it their civic and corporate responsibility as business service providers to protect their paying clients?

Last year, the Communications Ministry had revealed in Parliament that since January 2022, telecommunication service providers had intercepted a staggering 2.3 billion suspected scam calls and 2.5 billion unsolicited SMS messages.

But if that is to be believed then why do people still receive all those anonymous scam phone calls?

Are the telcos actually treating their loyal clients as passive business “fixed deposits” to generate obscene profits but not doing enough to protect them? By overemphasizing on profit and shareholders’ interest, are they neglecting their own faithful clients?

What about enacting stringent laws for telcos to “plough back” a certain percentage of their profits to invest in advanced scam fighting efforts?

In fact, are there any laws here to compel telcos to deploy appropriate technology to block international calls that “spoof” local numbers?

In reality, with some reaping annual profits to the tune of billions of ringgit, shouldn’t they do more to nix this scourge especially with all the much-hyped ‘AI’ and advanced machine learning technology available?

Finally, shouldn’t our government regulators consider imposing heavy financial penalties on telcos who allow a high volume of scam calls infiltrate their network?

Scam calls are meticulously organised criminals acts targeting the general public where no one is spared; as such, it calls for well-coordinated, sustained and even “out of the box” response by the service providers under stringent supervision of the government.

The truth is, what’s the point of the Communications Ministry issuing repeated “reassurances” that efforts are being undertaken to stop phone scams, when the public still gets inundated with scam calls all the time? 

JK Joseph
Ayer Keroh, Melaka

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.

- Focus Malaysia.