Malaysia is considering identity and phone-number checks for WhatsApp accounts as it responds to a rise in scams using the service, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said, according to Bernama.
Fahmi said the proposal is still being assessed and follows discussions among members of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). WhatsApp currently has no rule requiring account verification, he said.
Fahmi said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) previously changed its systems to block spoofed calls. Scam syndicates have since shifted to WhatsApp and are advertising loans for online gambling, he said.
Police recently arrested 61 suspects accused of impersonating MCMC personnel in scam cases, Fahmi said. Anyone found to have broken the law would face charges in court, he said.
Fahmi advised people who receive suspicious calls to end them immediately and alert police or MCMC, or call the National Scam Response Centre at 997. He said telecommunications companies handle billing, while neither the ministry nor MCMC contacts people about overdue phone bills or enforcement matters.
