Investment scams and phishing advertisements on social media platforms have become more rampant, with some scammers even using the names and headshots of celebrities to commit fraud.
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) on March 9 met with several government agencies and international corporations to crack down on such activities. Officials from the National Communications Commission, the Fair Trade Commission and the Ministry of Digital Affairs, as well as representatives from Google and Meta Platforms Inc, participated in the meeting and exchanged their views.
The FSC decided to establish a reporting system in collaboration with online platforms. Through this system, scam advertisements are reported to the authorities first, and the online platforms must take action and remove them as soon as possible.
During a meeting of the legislature on March 31, Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), in response to lawmakers’ questions about tackling illicit online activities, said that a government anti-fraud task force had been organized, and it would announce response measures and plans within a month.
A few days after the FSC’s meeting with Google and Meta, I submitted an op-ed piece to the Liberty Times (The Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) saying that the planned mechanism has some blind spots.
First, the reporting system involves the issue of attribution, namely, it is uncertain who or which organization is responsible once a scam is reported.
Second, the administrative capacity of the government might not be adequate enough to monitor fraudulent advertisements.
Regrettably, my concerns were immediately confirmed. Over the past few days, people might have seen an advertisement for “Hsiao-chun Stock Investment Class” (筱君存股班), which misappropriated the name and photographs of senior reporter and TV host Liao Hsiao-chun (廖筱君). As of the time that this was written, the scam advertisement was still on Facebook, recruiting members for free.
The advertisement was approved by Facebook on Friday. After being reported by the public, the scam might be removed after a few days.
However, it is worth noting that cybercriminals are as unrelenting as Marvel Comics’ paramilitary terrorist organization “Hydra.” Even though officials and civilians have worked hard to report these scams and have them removed, more fraudulent advertisements will appear again in a day or two.
Obviously, the current reporting system as designed by well-intentioned government officials is not the right antidote for cybercriminals.
Chen said that a government anti-fraud task force would propose some measures by the end of this month. I would like to remind the government of the gap between planning and reality. No matter how grand and impressive the proposals to combat online scams might be, they exist in theory, rather than in reality. Official documents must be put into practice.
Another issue that needs to be addressed concerns Taiwan’s legal system. The nation does not have clear and definite legislation to govern international online platforms, but it is precisely on these mega platforms that investment fraud is rampantly promoted.
The government should work on these problems and realize its plans. If officials keep breaking their promises, and if the public cannot see the results of the government’s efforts, public discontent will grow.
Lo Cheng-chung is director of Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology’s Institute of Financial and Economic Law.
Translated by Emma Liu
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