Most cell phone numbers in Malaysia are leaked and sold to scammers. Are telcos to be blamed?

• 73% of cell phone numbers in Malaysia are leaked or sold to scammers, equivalent to more than 21 million people connected to local telcos.
• Other top private information leaks are login passwords and names for Malaysia, Taiwan, and Thailand, followed by the address, country, date of birth, and email leaks. 

If you are in Malaysia, with a number from local telco providers, and have been getting more-than-usual scam calls, you are not alone. 73% of cell phone numbers belonging to more than 21 million people in Malaysia have been leaked or sold to scammers. The figure makes Malaysia the country with the most cell phone numbers breached based on Gogolook’s 2022 Annual Fraud Report.

The report looked into private information leakage and upstream operations in the scam…