KUALA LUMPUR: According to Fahmi Fadzil, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has reported that as of the second quarter of this year, there were 8.15 million recycled mobile numbers out of the total 49.4 million active users.
The Minister of Communications and Digital said that the 8.15 million figure includes phone numbers that have gone through a “cooling off period” of six months before they are reused by new users.
This cooling-off period method was implemented to prevent issues such as scams and fraud that may impact the previous owner of the phone number, particularly involving banking services.
Fahmi mentioned that phone numbers, like other natural resources such as petroleum and gold, should also be well-managed.
“The practice of reusing old numbers and the cooling-off period is also observed in other countries, including the United States with a 45-day period, Australia with six months, and Singapore with 90 days,” he stated.
“Although steps are being taken to prevent these problems and reduce their risks, the MCMC cannot prevent banks or any services from storing their customers’ personal data for extended periods,” he added during a session at Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (Oct 24).
Fahmi made these remarks in response to a query from Rodziah Ismail (PH-Ampang), who inquired about the ministry’s plans to permanently deactivate recycled phone numbers to ensure the safety of both prepaid and postpaid users.
Rodziah mentioned that users who were given recycled numbers often faced privacy breaches due to the retention of the previous users’ details and questioned if the ministry intended to extend the six-month cooling-off period.
Fahmi responded by saying that, although there have been complaints regarding the issue, the MCMC has only received 80 complaints related to recycled mobile numbers as of 2021.
“That accounts for 0.00016% of the total mobile number subscriptions in Malaysia, which is a small number,” he said.
He also noted that prepaid users, who constitute 34.98 million users in the country, are the most affected by issues related to recycled numbers, while the remaining 14.45 million users consist of postpaid users.
“To overcome this, new users must be vigilant in blocking numbers using the existing function in their mobile phones,” Fahmi added.
“Users should also regularly update their phone numbers with their banking service provider to ensure the security of their banking accounts.”
In response to a question from Roslan Hashim (PN-Kulim Bandar Baharu) regarding efforts to extend the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) operating hours to 24/7, Fahmi stated that the matter is currently under review.
“The NSRC currently operates from 8am to 8pm, but as announced by the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) on Oct 13 (during the tabling of Budget 2024), it has received additional funds and is looking to improve public access,” he explained.
Furthermore, Fahmi urged phone users facing similar issues to also reach out to their respective mobile network operators in addition to the MCMC.
