Fake BTS devices let scammers strike, telcos now on the hook with stricter SIM guidelines

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 — The rising use of Fake Base Transceiver Station (Fake BTS) gadgets, which might be simply hid in automobiles or luggage, has posed a major problem for authorities in combating SMS rip-off syndicates.

Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching defined that the gadgets’ excessive portability permits syndicates to function freely, evading detection by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM).

She added that the know-how circumvents cellular community safety, enabling scammers to ship fraudulent SMS messages and malicious hyperlinks to customers throughout the machine’s protection radius. 

“Because these devices can be taken anywhere, enforcement action relies heavily on public tip-offs and complaints to help us identify the syndicates’ exact locations,” she mentioned throughout an oral question-and-answer session within the Dewan Negara immediately.

She was responding to Senator Datuk Dr Mustafa Musa’s query on the measures taken by the MCMC to deal with Fake BTS syndicates and the misuse of SIM playing cards for digital fraud throughout the nation’s telecommunications community.

Teo mentioned that since September 2024, the MCMC, in collaboration with the police, has carried out a sequence of operations, together with Op Pancing, Op Fake BTS and Op Delusi, which efficiently crippled syndicates in high-density places reminiscent of Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru.

She burdened that the use or possession of unauthorised communication gear is an offence underneath the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, which carries a superb of as much as RM1 million or imprisonment of as much as 10 years.

Meanwhile, she introduced {that a} new SIM card registration customary working process will take impact on Feb 27 to stop line misuse.

The measure consists of larger fines for telcos that fail to conform, aiming to safeguard the nation’s digital ecosystem. — Bernama