Teo Nie Ching warns of AI-powered ‘sympathy scams’ using fake distress images to solicit donations

KULAI, Nov 2 — Social media users are urged to enhance their digital literacy and remain vigilant against the latest “sympathy scam”, a fraudulent scheme that is becoming increasingly sophisticated by exploiting artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

Deputy Minister of Communications Teo Nie Ching said unscrupulous individuals are misusing AI advances to manipulate distressing situations and elicit public sympathy to run fake donation drives.

As such, she urged social media users to verify the authenticity of such appeals before making contributions, warning that fraudsters were taking advantage of Malaysians’ generosity.

“Netizens must be digitally literate, exercise caution and always verify information before making donations. Do not allow irresponsible parties to exploit our soft spot or compassion,” she told reporters after a working visit to SJKT Ladang Kulai Besar here today.

She said the misuse of AI-generated visuals was becoming increasingly concerning, with scammers creating emotionally charged content to deceive potential donors.

Teo said the ministry had also received complaints from individuals whose photographs and names were used without permission to solicit donations.

She said that according to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) statistics, social media platforms received a whopping 174,099 requests to remove scam-related posts as of October 15 this year, compared with 102,113 throughout last year.

Of this year's requests, 170,633 posts were removed, representing a compliance rate of about 98 per cent.

Teo said compliance was high because most fraudulent posts involved clear-cut cases of deception.

Several suspected AI-generated posts recently circulated on social media, depicting distressing scenes alongside QR codes linked to bank accounts to solicit public donations.

Social media users identified apparent inconsistencies and implausible details in the images, raising suspicions that they had been generated using AI.

Teo said MCMC took such cases seriously and would act against fraudulent content following complaints, including seeking its removal from social media platforms.

She advised individuals whose identities or photographs had been misused to lodge police reports to help authorities trace the bank account holders involved.

She also urged the public to report suspicious online activities to MCMC or the relevant authorities.

Meanwhile, Teo said RM150,000 from the Malaysian Indian Community Transformation Unit (MITRA) had been allocated to provide five 86-inch interactive smartboards and related equipment to Tamil primary schools in the Kulai district.

SJKT Kulai Besar, the district's largest Tamil primary school with 830 pupils, received two smartboards, while SJKT Ladang Kelan, SJKT Ladang Kulai Oil Palm and SJKT Sedenak received one each.

During her visit, Teo also inspected the construction of a new RM4.3 million three-storey block at SJKT Kulai Besar, funded by the Education Ministry. The building, comprising an open hall on the ground floor and eight classrooms on the upper floors, is expected to be handed over to the school by June next year. — Bernama

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古来，11 月 2 日讯——社交媒体用户被敦促提高数字素养，并对最新的“同情骗局”保持警惕。这种诈骗手段利用人工智能 (AI) 技术，变得越来越复杂。

通讯部副部长张念群表示，不法分子滥用人工智能技术，操纵令人痛心的事件，博取公众同情，进行虚假捐款活动。

因此，她敦促社交媒体用户在捐款前核实此类呼吁的真实性，并警告说，诈骗分子正在利用马来西亚人的慷慨。

“网民必须具备一定的数字素养，谨慎行事，并在捐款前务必核实信息。不要让不负责任的人利用我们的软弱和同情心，”她在今天访问古来勿刹淡米尔小学后对记者说。

她表示，滥用人工智能生成的图像变得越来越令人担忧，诈骗分子制作煽情的内容来欺骗潜在的捐赠者。

张先生表示，该部门还收到一些个人的投诉，称他们的照片和姓名未经许可被用于募捐。

她表示，根据马来西亚通讯及多媒体委员会（MCMC）的统计数据，截至今年10月15日，社交媒体平台已收到高达174,099份删除诈骗相关帖子的请求，而去年全年这一数字为102,113份。

今年共收到 170,633 起删除请求，删除率约为 98%。

Teo表示，由于大多数欺诈性帖子都涉及明显的欺骗行为，因此合规率很高。

最近，社交媒体上流传着几条疑似人工智能生成的帖子，帖子中描绘了令人不安的场景，并附有链接到银行账户的二维码，以此来募集公众捐款。

社交媒体用户发现这些图片中存在明显的矛盾和不合情理的细节，因此怀疑这些图片是使用人工智能生成的。

张先生表示，马来西亚通讯及多媒体委员会（MCMC）非常重视此类案件，并将在接到投诉后对欺诈性内容采取行动，包括要求将其从社交媒体平台删除。

她建议身份或照片被盗用的个人向警方报案，以帮助当局追踪涉事银行账户持有人。

她还敦促公众向马来西亚通信与多媒体委员会（MCMC）或相关部门举报可疑的网络活动。

与此同时，张先生表示，马来西亚印度人社区转型单位（MITRA）已拨款 15 万令吉，为古来县的淡米尔小学提供五台 86 英寸互动智能白板及相关设备。

SJKT Kulai Besar 是该地区最大的泰米尔小学，拥有 830 名学生，获得了两块智能板，而 SJKT Ladang Kelan、SJKT Ladang Kulai Oil Palm 和 SJKT Sedenak 各获得了一块。

访问期间，张女士还视察了古来勿刹华小新建的三层教学楼，该楼耗资430万令吉，由教育部出资兴建。这栋楼一楼为开放式大厅，二楼设有八间教室，预计将于明年6月交付学校使用。——马新社

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