The government on Tuesday launched a trial of its new “111” text message platform, which starting from next year all agencies are to use when sending official messages to counter the prevalence of fraud.
The Ministry of Digital Affairs worked with telecoms to create the short message service (SMS) code for official use in response to pervasive fraud messages claiming to be from government agencies.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) presided over the launch of the service at an event in Taipei.
Photo: CNA
To demonstrate the platform, she sent a message to reporters in attendance from the SMS code “111.”
Once the rollout is complete, if a message claiming to be from the government comes from a number other than 111, Tsai advised exercising caution, as it could be fraudulent.
“The government will not rest in its fight against fraud,” Tsai said.
In the first nine months of this year, the government intercepted more than 6.89 million fraudulent text messages and more than 16.32 million fraudulent telephone calls, she said.
The ministry completed the system last month, with some members of the public already starting to receive messages from the number, Minister of Digital Affairs Audrey Tang (唐鳳) said.
However, the system would not be used government-wide until the new year, she added.
The first agencies to use the number would be the digital ministry, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Labor and Academia Sinica, along with the Tainan City Government, Tang said.
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