PETALING JAYA (ANN/THE STAR) – Malaysia registered 2.98 million scam calls last year, representing a significant 82.81 per cent rise from 1.63 million in 2023, according to the 2024 Whoscall Annual Report.
The caller ID and scam prevention app stated in a media announcement that the information gathered from January to December 2024 included eight nations: Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.
Fraudulent SMS messages also experienced an increase, growing by 19.97 per cent to 5.29 million in 2024 from 4.41 million the prior year.
Additional results reveal that Malaysia exhibited the highest incidence of personal data leaks among the countries studied, with 72.5 per cent of users who accessed Whoscall’s ID Security feature finding that their data had been exposed.
It also discovered that phone numbers are the most frequently exposed personal information among Malaysians.
“While phone numbers were the most leaked data across all countries (98 per cent in Malaysia) among users, Malaysia stands out for its high rate of name leaks (89 per cent), followed by addresses and emails,” said Voon Chang Liew, business development director for Gogolook Malaysia, the parent company of Whoscall.
“This makes impersonation scams more convincing, as scammers exploit leaked names to pose as banks, government agencies or delivery services.”
According to Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf, financial losses due to scams in the country escalated to MYR1.57bil in 2024, increasing from MYR1.22bil in the year prior.
“Artificial intelligence-driven scams, including deepfake videos of celebrities and politicians, are making it easier to deceive victims into fraudulent investments or phishing traps. These scams are becoming harder to detect, especially for the elderly, who are often targeted due to their financial savings,” he said.
“To combat this, the police is continuing its strategic partnership with Whoscall by sharing verified scam numbers in the Whoscall application, recognising AI-powered solutions as a critical first line of defence.”
