Chairing the Cabinet's public safety meeting today, Premier Jiang Yi-huah demanded that the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) and other government agencies do more to control the rise of new fraudulent schemes and to assess the effectiveness of prevention measures.
During January to May this year, the country saw a drop in violence and theft crimes over the same period last year, along with a rise in the clearance rate associated with these offenses. However, frauds increased by 3,508 more cases or 55.86 percent year-on-year, with the associated clearance rate declining by 20.67 percent. Among the newer types of scams are those initiated through the mobile device networking app LINE (1,422 more cases this year), and text messages containing fee-deduction links (836 cases), Jiang said.
At the meeting, the National Communications Commission (NCC) also reported on various text scam prevention measures being planned by telecommunications service providers. This includes creating double verification mechanisms, adding payment passwords, requiring the user to apply for such payment service in person, and blocking suspicious Internet domains and IP address. However, as some of the measures will not be in place until August or September, Premier Jiang asked the NCC to fast-track their review and implementation for the protection of the public.
Jiang also directed the NCC to raise people's awareness of different scams associated with LINE. With the launch of 4G mobile Internet services in May's end, users of the popular app are expected to soar in numbers. He asked the NCC to ensure all loopholes are closed by including mobile Internet service operators in their regulatory mechanism.
Separately, the premier expressed concern about the safety of students starting summer break soon. He asked the MOI to work with the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Economic Affairs to plan summer programs that engage young people in safe activities. Ministries were reminded to supervise the local government agencies, which will be implementing most of the programs, and to report results to the Executive Yuan after the conclusion of the programs.
Jiang also said drunk driving is an important issue to President Ma Ying-jeou. At a National Police Day celebration on June 13, the president announced this year's goal of lowering the number of related deaths to fewer than 150. Curbing drunk driving is not solely the responsibility of the police, but requires cooperation from other ministries and agencies as well, Jiang said. He asked the MOI, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the MOJ and local authorities to ramp up their efforts and work together toward the president's target.