Page 52 - SC SCAR 2023 ENGLISH Flipbook

PART 2 REGULATORY PERFORMANCE AND OUTCOMES
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SECURITIES COMMISSION MALAYSIA ANNUAL REPORT 2023
Investor Alert List and Cyberspace related Interventions
The SC has and will continue to proactively disrupt the activities of the scammers and operators of unlicensed activity. In this regard, the SC included the names of entities and individuals found to be carrying on scams or unlicensed activities on the SC’s Investor Alert List as soon as possible where in most cases this is done within 48 hours of receipt of complaints.
In addition, the SC also with the assistance from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) blocked websites that were found to be carrying out scams and unlicensed activities. Furtherance to this, the SC also collaborated with social media providers such as Meta Platforms Inc (Facebook), Google LLC etc. to geo-block offending social media pages.
Proactive Surveillance of Unlicensed Activities
In addition to taking actions based on complaints and enquiries received, the SC has a dedicated unit to proactively monitor and detect online unlicensed activities and scams offered to Malaysians.
As of 31 December 2023, a total of 569 URLs (2022: 382 URLs) have been detected involving various websites and social media platforms for potential breaches on offering unlicensed activities to Malaysians. Of these, 51% are from Telegram, 27% are from Facebook, 9% from Instagram and 13% from other sources such as websites, YouTube, TikTok, etc.
Investor Empowerment
The SC’s investor empowerment initiative, InvestSmart®, carried out various activities to promote investment literacy and awareness on unlicensed activities and scams to members of the public. InvestSmart® continues to utilise various digital and online tools including social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube to reach out to the Malaysian public with timely alerts, reminders, and guidance to avoid unlicensed activities and scams. In designing the messaging and content, the InvestSmart® was guided by the insights and information gleaned from complaints and enquiries received as well as findings from the survey studies conducted.
In line with this, the InvestSmart® continued to carry out various anti-scam awareness initiatives in 2023 which includes the following:
• Regular postings (posters and videos) on social media platforms e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube;
• Organise InvestSmart® webinars;
• Media releases;
• Speaking engagements;
• TV and radio interviews; and
• Public service announcements (PSA) in collaboration with the Malaysian Ministry of Communication. Details of the SC’s investor education initiatives are in Part 4.
Task Force on Scams and Unlicensed Activities
In early 2023, an internal Task Force on Unlicensed Activities/Scams was set up to provide greater focus on identified areas to suppress the proliferation of unlicensed activities/scams. Some of the notable outcomes of the Task Force were as follows: