In recent years, fraud schemes have been evolving. People often receive messages from fraud groups impersonating government agencies, asking them to provide personal information or make remittance, or tricking them into clicking on links, resulting in personal data leaks or financial losses. The Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) announced on August 19 that it will cooperate with LINE to test run the government agencies’ official LINE account authentication mechanism to establish a unified standard to help the public quickly authenticate public accounts and lower the risk of being deceived. For government agencies whose official LINE accounts have passed certification, a blue shield label will be displayed, along with information such as agency, title of position, and name. MODA will provide operational guidance and educational training to assist agencies in implementing the certification and authentication mechanism in an orderly manner, thereby strengthening the government's anti-fraud efforts.

MODA explained that the mechanism not only integrates government review and LINE’s authentication functions, but also makes official account information more transparent. The public only needs to verify the blue shield label, as well as the information on agency, title of position, and name. Taking "Wang Cheng-Ming, Director of the Ministry of Digital Affairs" for example. One can authenticate the official account and information through two simple factors. If the account sent does not bear the blue shield label, the agency, title of position, and name are not displayed, and the message content contains suspicious links and requires personal information, the public should remain vigilant and check repeatedly to avoid being deceived.

MODA pointed out that in order to strengthen the authorization management mechanism of government agencies' official LINE accounts, it has established relevant management regulations, requiring agencies to assign dedicated personnel to manage official accounts, regularly check usage, and ensure that login passwords have adequate security strength and protection mechanisms. By strengthening management measures, the risk of government agencies’ official LINE accounts being misused can be reduced, and the public can be better protected from false information.

MODA explained that fraudulent messages will undermine the trust between the government and the public. By jointly launching an official account authentication mechanism with LINE, the government hopes that the public will be able to more easily identify government accounts and receive notifications with peace of mind. MODA will proactively assist central and local government agencies in introducing and using the mechanism. It will continue to work with enterprises to prevent fraud at the source and create a safer digital communication environment.