KUALA LUMPUR – A 49-year-old man has initiated legal action against instant messaging platform Telegram at the high court here, after discovering that his identity was used to perpetrate scams on the social messaging app.
The plaintiff, Datuk Mohd Nazri Khan Adam, an economic analyst and financial manager, said in court filings that an IT consultant uncovered 32 Telegram accounts falsely operating under his identity.
“Around two years ago, several individuals contacted me to ask about various investment schemes which were allegedly offered by myself on Telegram.
“However, I told them that although those schemes were making use of my identity, those accounts were fake.
“When I went on Telegram, I found that there were individuals on Telegram wrongfully using my name to get investments from the public,” Nazri said in his affidavit filed on February 5, 2024, which was sighted by Scoop.
In a similar instance in 2023, two individuals informed Nazri that they had invested in a financial scheme allegedly promoted by him, which he categorically denies.
Following these incidents, Nazri lodged a police report and instructed his legal team to serve a letter of demand to Telegram, requesting the platform to identify the individuals behind the fake accounts and block their access.
However, Telegram failed to respond to Nazri’s letter.
Nazri, who claims to have conducted over 1,000 investment programmes and has appeared in interviews on Astro Awani, expressed concern that his reputation and qualifications as a licensed funds manager could be compromised by such incidents.
“I believe without the information and cooperation from the defendant, it would be difficult to stop scams.
“This type of identity theft would not only affect my professional reputation but would put others who may not be financially literate at risk of scams,” Nazri explained in his affidavit.
Nazri filed his originating summons against Telegram at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on February 5, seeking an order for the messaging platform to reveal the details of the fake accounts using his identity.
The plaintiff contends that this information is crucial for him to pursue legal action against those responsible for the identity theft.
The court has scheduled the next case management for August 20. – August 16, 2024