KUALA LUMPUR: The Federal Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf, reiterated that any investment offered through Telegram is a scam.
He said many individuals have been deceived and made investments that resulted in substantial losses for everyone involved.
"I can confidently say that all these investments (in Telegram) are scams. Any investment offered through Telegram is a scam.
"I have repeatedly highlighted, especially regarding Telegram, where there are dozens or even hundreds of groups luring people into investment scams," he said in a press conference here today.
Ramli seconded Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil, who said there has been an uptrend in traditional crimes migrating to cyberspace, including social media.
Ramli said there's a clear trend showing that online crimes, especially scams, are causing escalating financial losses over the years.
"However, I always advise the public, please, everyone should help themselves (tolong diri sendiri) and help us by not believing in any investment offers through social media," he said.
Yesterday, Fahmi said the three issues that affected Malaysians the most on social media were scams, cyberbullying and sexual crimes, particularly against children.
Fahmi said Malaysians mostly fall victim to online scams on Facebook and suffered losses from scams, including non-existent investment schemes on Facebook. The losses reached RM8 million to RM132 million in the first half of this year.
As for Telegram, Fahmi said, issues include scams, online gambling and the leaking of personal and sensitive information.
When questioned about police actions against non-compliant applications or social media platforms, Ramli said CCID would assist where necessary in tackling online gambling, despite it not falling within their primary jurisdiction.
"The government's commitment is very serious, and many high-level meetings have taken place, involving even the cabinet.
"I believe there was a discussion yesterday to address this issue and guidelines and policies will be issued. I believe we will see positive developments in that direction.
"Although online gambling is not specifically under the CCID, we will assist where needed, especially regarding the use of online systems and ICT advancements," he said.