Be Aware Of This Latest Bank Scam If You Have A Maybank Account

Police have warned members of the public to be wary of phones calls they received that is said to be from "banks", particularly Maybank.

This is because the authorities have detected a syndicate where fraudsters would pose as bank officials to mislead people and cheat their money.

Thankfully, the police have managed to identify the syndicate's modus operandi (MO).

Federal Commercial Crime Investigation Department deputy director (Cyber and Multimedia Investigation) Senior Asst Comm Datuk Mohd Kamaruddin Md Din has revealed how they work:

1. Syndicate members will introduce themselves as officers from Maybank and ask the victim to provide their full name and identity card (IC) number for verification.

2. After completing the "verification", the fraudster would inform the victim that he or she had unpaid personal loan with the bank.

3. If the victim denies having any personal loan with the bank, the fake officer will then say that the victim's personal details are being misused by a third party to make the loan.

4. The scammers will then advise the victim to make a phone call to the authorities with a number that they provided.

The victim will most likely call up the number provided out of panic to lodge a complaint or review the matter with Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) or the police.

According to ACP Mohd Kamaruddin, the syndicate is using the VOIP (voice over internet protocol) system to impersonate as the authorities to deceive the victim into believing that they are really calling the authorities.

In fact, the number the victim calls up will even appear as authentic.

"The victim will think that he or she was talking with a BNM officer or a police officer when in actual fact, he or she was talking to a member of the syndicate who was pretending to be one," ACP Mohd Kamaruddin was quoted as saying by Berita Harian.

It was revealed that the syndicate will ask for the victim's bank account and credit cards details.

Then, the victim will be directed to transfer all of his or her money into a third party's bank account at the bank counter or through the ATM (automatic teller machine).

The syndicate would claim that this procedure is strictly for the victim's security and for the purpose of investigation.

The scammers will even go one step ahead and instruct the victim not to tell anyone about this incident as it may "affect investigation" into the matter.

BNM has recommended Malaysians to contact their respective banks directly or contact the Associations of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) toll-free service called ABMConnect at 1-300-88-9980 when in doubt of any calls, emails or SMS.

The police have also urged the public to lodge a report at the nearest police station if they have received such calls from the syndicate.