Scam alert: Scammers are now posing as Anti-Scam officers 🤦‍♂️

Looks like the scammers have come full circle in the cat-and-mouse scam war with the authorities.

The Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) and the Association of Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM) warn that scammers have taken to impersonating National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) officers. The NSRC is a one-stop contact centre for scam reporting, loss prevention, and criminal investigation.

Scammers posing as NSRC officers will attempt to scare victims by alleging that their personal information is linked to illegal activities.

Generally, an NSRC officer impersonation scam works as such:

1. The scam begins with the victim receiving a call from an unknown mobile number, alleging to be an NSRC officer
2. The scammer would claim that the victim’s identity or personal particulars have been used in criminal activities, such as money laundering and mule account transactions
3. The scammer employs lengthy “interrogation” tactics mimicking a real investigation, to establish a sense of legitimacy. This involves repeated phone calls over a prolonged period of time
4. Finally, after gaining the victim’s trust, the scammer will ask the victim to leave their debit/ ATM card at a designated location.
5. This allows the scammer to access the victim’s online banking account to empty out their account and/or make unauthorised transfers and bill payments.
6. If the victim does not have an existing online banking facility, the scammer could even register for one

Keep in mind that the NSRC only receives calls from the public and does not make any outbound calls to individuals. If you receive a call from anyone claiming to be an NSRC officer, you should immediately hang up. 

Scammers are impersonating other government officers and bank staff

In general, the banks are reminding the public to beware of fraudsters who pose as officers from any enforcement agencies and regulatory bodies, such as Bank Negara Malaysia and Polis Diraja Malaysia. 

Additionally, the banks themselves would will never request sensitive customer information such as: 

• Credit/ debit card number
• Card verification value (CVV) number 
• Online banking username
• Password

If you have fallen victim to a scam, you should immediately call the National Scam Response Centre at 997 or your bank’s 24/7 customer service hotline for assistance. 

Stay informed of the latest scam tactics at www.JanganKenaScam.com.