Beware of fake social media accounts created for purpose of fraud, sedition - MCMC

PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has today reminded the public to be wary of fake accounts created on social media for the purpose of fraud and sedition.

The MCMC, in a statement, provided some examples on how to identify these fake accounts, with one of them being the account having only been activated in the past few months.

According to the MCMC, new accounts are frequently set up to prevent detection by the authorities or to avoid disclosure by victims of previous fraud cases.

The names of the account owners also do not seem real, with the ones used being either pseudonyms or that of famous people while the personal information and biodata provided are dubious and unrealistic, he said.

According to the MCMC, these fake accounts would have a short list of friends or none at all as the reason for setting up the account is not for long-term friendship, adding that even the list of friends could be fake.

Fake accounts can also be identified through too many likes by others on various topics and groups and very few likes on their own page, he said.

The MCMC said cyber criminals had also been found to use various slick tactics to carry out fraud, with some using the profiles of family members, acquaintances of victims, dignitaries or individuals as well as famous companies.

It also advised the public to refrain from discussing sensitive issues related to religion, race, the royal institution and politics, which the owners of these fake accounts will try to instigate, so as to protect themselves from legal action if found to be involved in making defamatory, seditious or threatening public order statements.

The MCMC, police and other related agencies can take legal action if there is misuse of the Internet and social media for criminal or seditious purposes, he said.

"Members of the public must always be wary and sensitive to fraudulent attempts by those who do not care about law and public order,” it said.

-- BERNAMA