KUALA LUMPUR: Police yesterday urged the public to download the “Whoscall” app on their mobile devices to curb the rising number of scams in the country.
Its Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Kamarudin Md Din said the app would help the public stay ahead of phone scammers by being warned of calls from suspected fraudsters.
The app developer is collaborating with police to blacklist the telephone numbers of scammers and warn smartphone users of the possibility of calls being from scammers.
This will help the call recipient to decide whether to take the call.
“The Whoscall app has a database of the phone numbers of scammers which police have compiled. With the app, a smartphone user will be alerted of a possible scam call by flashing a warning on the user’s screen. The app is free and safe to use,” he said at the launch of the app in Cheras yesterday.
Mohd Kamarudin also urged the public to continue providing police with the phone numbers of scammers from calls they receive as this would improve the CCID’s database.
At the same event, police also introduced an anti-scam song and music video titled Be Smart, Be Alert to make the public more aware of scams. The song, which was composed by musician and composer Lenny Ooi Teck Wai, involved the participation of several singers and police personnel.
He said with the ongoing anti-scam campaigns, cases declined to 20,041 last year compared with 20,701 cases in 2021.
Mohd Kamarudin said although there were fewer cases last year, losses were higher, at RM684.5 million compared with 2021 where victims of phone scams reported losses amounting to RM560.8 million.
He said total losses involving all cases of commercial crimes last year were lower at RM1.73 billion, compared with the RM2.2 billion lost in 2021.
“Our fight against scammers will keep on going and we will never tire of educating the public. We hope the public will remain cautious at all times when taking calls from suspicious individuals, who are out to fleece them.”
