The Ministry of Communications has launched what is called the Online Safety IRL: Scam Edition fellowship program. Jointly driven with CelcomDigi, Meta and Ratio:Cause, it aims to raise scam awareness , particularly those driven by AI tech that’s proliferating these days.
This is notably the second edition of the Online Safety IRL, with the first having “impacted over 2.8 million Malaysians through digital safety awareness content”. For the current one, the program has picked a “cohort of 35 young changemakers and content creators” for their “potential to collectively reach over 5 million users online” to spread the scam awareness message.
Building up to that, the 35 fellows will “undergo an immersive fellowship involving expert-led masterclasses, field immersion, mentorship and community outreach”. All of this will be to build their own scam-spotting skills and understanding of “AI’s dual role in scams and safety”, before they can themselves spread the message.
With Meta also being involved this time around, the company has also taken the opportunity to present what it calls a scam awareness browser game. It’s called simply “Is This Legit?” and it’s a pretty simple exercise to get players to recognise patterns in the language used in scams. There are also a few simple games to play in between exercises. The game is also available in Bahasa Malaysia, and you can give it a try yourself by hitting this link.
