URL Links Sent Over SMS Will Be Blocked From 2 May 2023

If you (for some reason) regularly send URL links over SMS, do note that this will be blocked starting from 2 May 2023 next week. This was announced back in February 2023 by the Malaysia Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

The main objective of this initiative is to prevent consumers from becoming victims of online scams through the use of phishing websites. Interestingly, this block is applicable to SMS (sent and received) from both local and international mobile numbers.

Although the initiative was announced earlier this year, local telcos recently sent out an SMS informing customers of this directive, as reported by Amanz. At the moment, only SMS with URL links sent from personal numbers will be blocked from 2 May next week. SMS sent by businesses via short codes can still contain URL links, but this will also be blocked in the near future.