Latest news with #ScamInc
New Straits Times
20-05-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
NST Leader: Of scam ads and social media
ONLINE scams have grown to be a global business empire, tempting The Economist to label it "Scam Inc". Different scammers, different scams, but they are united in one purpose: to cheat others of their money. In Malaysia, romance scams used to be a regular occurrence. Of late, investment scams have replaced love scams. According to the Scam Report 2024, Malaysia lost RM54 billion to scams, of which RM13 billion was from fraudulent investment schemes. If in the beginning investment scammers relied on emails, phone calls and text messages, today they have advanced to deepfakes, the use of fake audios or videos to trick victims into believing them to be real. No thanks to artificial intelligence, even the most tech-savvy find it hard to tell the difference between the two. Just as romance scammers are doing. And they all play out on social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, TikTok and YouTube. Of these, Telegram is popular among scammers targeting Amanah Saham investors. When asked by a "potential investor", one of the scammers put it thus: "Place RM1,000 and in two to three hours you will make RM32,000." One needn't be discerning to spot the financial nonsense. As the conversation continues, a string of messages appear saying they have made this much and that much, suspiciously echoing the scammer. Scam Inc indeed. If social media platforms are the common denominator, then that is where the solution to the problem of investment scams is. But how? One way is for social media platforms to take down such fraudulent ads and scams. Tech titans have gone public by saying that they are taking down fake posts and ads. But countries around the world think it is not robust enough. Because of this, the European Union and the United Kingdom have taken the legal route to tackle the issue. But Ireland, seeing the existing EU laws as insufficient, is proposing that the EU make Big Tech bear responsibility for scam ads. Good idea, but a difficult one to implement, given that Washington is pushing Brussels to go light on its regulations against Silicon Valley. According to the Financial Times, the proposal by the Irish Finance Ministry is gaining traction. The interesting thing about the Irish idea is that it is not after the content of the ads, but the advertisers. Ireland and 14 others which support the proposal want social media platforms to only post ads from authorised financial service providers. Makes sense. There is a reason for the Irish rush to get the amendment passed. If the Financial Times is right, 75 per cent of the Bank of Ireland's customers have lost their money to investment scams. Being the country's biggest bank, that must add up to a humongous sum. Unlike the EU and the UK, Malaysia doesn't have the muscle to enforce such a legal regime. But it is not without an option. Malaysia can, like the EU, act as a bloc through Asean. But reaching consensus among the 10 members would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Given the state of the world, Asean has no choice but to find the needle.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fraud factories, cyber criminals and corruption: The Economist's new podcast, "Scam Inc", uncovers a new, global, underground economy worth more than illicit drug trade
"Scam Inc" tells the story of a predatory, multi-billion dollar industry emerging from the shadows and why victims fall prey to it LONDON, Feb. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today The Economist released "Scam Inc", a new, deeply-reported, eight-episode limited podcast series exploring the sophisticated, multi-billion dollar industry of online scams. Scam Inc is hosted by Sue-Lin Wong, The Economist's South-East Asia correspondent and host of "The Prince", a multiple award-winning podcast series about China's leader Xi Jinping. For "Scam Inc", Wong follows the trail from the collapse of a bank in rural Kansas into the heart of a vast, global, underground economy of fraud, human trafficking, corruption and money laundering. "The rise of the online scam industry is the most shocking story you've never heard of," said Wong. "It's taking over whole cities and countries as it spreads around the world. And scammers are now using not just crypto but also the most sophisticated AI, malware and psychological manipulation—and they're coming for all of us." "Scam Inc" is the fourth limited series created for Economist Podcasts+, The Economist's podcast subscription. Subscribers to The Economist and Economist Podcasts+ will have exclusive access to the entire series. The first three episodes will be available to non-subscribers. The entire series can be found here. "Scam Inc" is the latest podcast to join The Economist's stable of shows that showcase the breadth and originality of its journalism. Today the portfolio includes: The Intelligence, a daily podcast on global news The Weekend Intelligence, a weekly exploration of stories beyond the news Checks and Balance, a weekly podcast on American politics Money Talks, a weekly show on markets, the economy and business Babbage, a weekly podcast on science and technology Drum Tower, a weekly podcast on China The Prince, a limited series on the ambitions of China's leader, Xi Jinping Next Year in Moscow, a limited series on Russia's future The Modi Raj, a limited series on India's prime minister, Narendra Modi Boss Class, a limited series on leadership and management Boom!, a limited series on how a generation blew up American politics The World in Brief, a news briefing on the global agenda Editor's Picks, essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist About The Economist With rigorous reporting, in-depth analysis and global perspective, The Economist explains today's most important events and seeks to discern the trends that will shape the future. In addition to the weekly print edition, The Economist publishes its journalism daily through its website, app, podcasts, newsletters, videos and Espresso, an app for concise global news. The Economist has 1.2m subscribers. More than 60m people follow The Economist across X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok and Threads. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE The Economist
