KUALA LUMPUR: Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil will ask telecommunications companies (telcos) to explain allegations that excessive numbers of prepaid lines are being registered under individuals’ names and potentially misused for scams.
Fahmi said he took note of concerns raised by Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia (PPIM) chief activist Datuk Nadzim Johan, including claims that people had discovered numerous phone lines registered under their names without their knowledge.
“I will look into this matter. I have requested some information so that we can take action.
“If it is true, the telcos will have some explaining to do.
“I will call the telco CEOs to meet me and provide a full explanation on this matter,” he said.
Fahmi said the government had already introduced several safeguards, including requiring prepaid line registrations to be verified using MyDigital ID.
He said the measures were important as the government had found that some registered phone numbers were eventually used for malicious purposes.
“Sometimes foreigners misuse them, sometimes unidentified people, and there are also people who hand over their MyKad and so on,” he said.
Fahmi was speaking at the launch of the National Anti-Scam Awareness campaign organised by PPIM.
Nadzim alleged that telcos were partly responsible for the proliferation of scam cases by allowing large numbers of lines to be registered under a single individual’s name.
He cited a case involving a 70-year-old man who discovered that 18 phone lines had been registered under his name despite having only one line.
Nadzim also said that PPIM had received information involving up to 400 lines registered under a single name, which were subsequently sold to scammers.
He said that some people could also face financial repercussions, including adverse credit records, when bills for unauthorised lines registered under their names went unpaid.
Nadzim called for greater accountability from the telecommunications industry, saying stronger action was needed to prevent phone lines from being exploited by scam syndicates.
Article by: New Straits Times
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