Blocking of Fraudulent SMS To Combat Online Fraud

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• What is this blocking about?

  In order to prevent individuals from becoming online scam scams, the Malaysia Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has issued a directive to all telcos on 14 February 2023 to block sending and receiving of short messaging service (SMS) from local, international mobile numbers and applications containing below contents:

  • URL link and any clickable link e.g. shorten URL; shorten URL;
    
  • Request for user’s personal information e.g name, IC number, account number and
  • Mobile and fixed line number

  
  Blockings were implemented in stages, started from 2 May 2023 for SMS between individuals and applications such as Enterprise SMS service and Maxis IoT SIM from 2 July 2023.

  Exemption given by MCMC to relevant essential services businesses to include URL or personal information for convenience of user. However, this exemption will end on 31 Aug 2024.

• What information is not allowed in SMS content?

  Any hyperlink (URL), request for personal information such as name, IC number and account number and fixed or mobile number are not allowed in the SMS content.
  

• If I accidentally initiated sending of SMS containing URL, personal information or phone numbers and it was blocked, will I be charged for blocked SMS?

  No. You will not be charged if the SMS is blocked.
  

• I have important URL and personal data to share with my family and friends, what are my options?

  You may still share the link via social apps or instant messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook messenger and WeChat and etc.

  Please be reminded, do not click on any links sent from unknown senders and to only login to your eWallet or online banking account via the official URL and mobile app. Do share this with your loved ones.
  

• I am a business user and company sent SMS to users via Enterprise SMS (ESMS) and Maxis IoT SIM, what will happen to that?

  The blocking of disallowed content in SMS is being done in phrases, it starts with SMS between individual, blocking of URL in SMS sent by business via short codes such as 6XXXX, 2XXXX and 1XXXX will be from effective 2 July 2023. Please refer to FAQ in Maxis Business website.
  

• Why am I still receiving messages with URL links?

  The message you received is likely not a traditional SMS sent over the cellular network, which is managed by your network provider. Instead, it may be an RCS (Rich Content Services) or iMessage that uses internet protocols, similar to many mobile applications, and is beyond the network provider's control.

  We recommend that you do not reply to messages or click on links from unknown numbers. Please report these messages as spam.

• Why can't I send my SMS even though it has no prohibited content?

  Sometimes your SMS might get blocked because of certain word patterns, like missing spaces after a full stop (.). This can make your message look like a web link, which might cause it to be blocked. For example:

  • "Email me at xx@concorde.net"
  • "Express Malaysia.you may check…"
  • "Hi abc.how was your week?"

  To avoid this, ensure there's a space after each full stop and avoid using email-style addresses or patterns that might be misinterpreted as links.