Malaysians Used This Site To Check If Their Data Was Breached, But It's Actually Fake
The creator of siapakenahack.com said that he did this to educate the public.
By Tang Ruxyn — 20 Nov 2017, 12:20 PM
In the past few weeks, there have been a lot buzz surrounding one of the largest data breaches in Malaysia
The issue was first reported by Lowyat.net, which revealed that 46.2 million mobile phone numbers from telcos and mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) in Malaysia are at stake as they are believed to have been compromised and leaked online.
According to the report, someone was trying to sell a huge database of personal information collected from 2014.
Following the exposé, a data breach checking site, sayakenahack.com, was created by tech blogger Keith Rozario to allow the public to check if their data was part of the breach. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has subsequently blocked access to the website sayakenahack.com, citing data privacy concerns, although the Bar Council cyber law and information technology committee disagreed with the move.
Meanwhile, a new viral site siapakenahack.com became a hit as it also allegedly let the public check if their personal data had been stolen
The site is purportedly created by the 'Ministry of Malaysia National Cyber Communication Council (MNCCC)' and made possible for anyone to check if they were affected by the breach.
According to the site, people just need to input their mobile phone numbers on the site to proceed with the verification.
However, it turns out that the site is actually fake
Once a person enters his or her data on the site, the individual will be directed to click on a link. They will then be taken to a new page, in which it was revealed that the user has been duped.
It was learned that the site was created by a person named C.F Fong, the founder of security services company LGMS.
"The reason I am creating this website to let you know that: Do not simply trust any website, even if the website looks legit and seems to offer something 'nice' or 'useful'. The whole point of this website is to let people get conned once, then they will be more alert next time," Fong said on the site.
According to Fong, hundreds of Malaysians have fallen for this fake site
The Star reported Fong as saying that about 500 people have input their phone numbers into the website since yesterday morning, 19 November.
He reminded the public to be vigilant so that they will not fall victim to cybercrimes, and even offered a few tips on how to determine if a website is fake.
"If you are more technical and IT savvy, you could actually check the origin of the website, the owner, the place the website is hosted and also by Google-searching the website," he was quoted as saying.