Feature image credit: Anna Tarazevich @ pexels
Every now and then, there’s an article in the news with the word “scam” in the headline. Some of these are truly heartbreaking, like the widow and retiree who lost all their savings. The Macau scam alone has claimed countless victims over the past few years.
Is it just me, or are these scams getting more and more rampant? Over the past two weeks alone, this writer received two separate suspicious phone calls.
The good news is that these scammers are becoming easier to spot. Beware of the following red flags.
1) Beware of fake apps that steal your TAC
The fake apps consist of malware, which can read all the text messages on your phone and sneak a peek at your TAC number.
Recently, a Malaysian lost RM18,700 to scammers who disguised themselves as a “cleaning service”. The scammers instructed the victim to download an app called “My Maid” through a link they provided. Long story short, the victim did not receive a TAC but was sent a notification of a transaction he did not perform. And then it was too late. Of the RM18,700 he lost was money he withdrew from EPF, as well as the commission he received from work.
Malaysia Computer Emergency Response Team (MyCERT) has published some recommendations to avoid falling prey to fake apps. Some important points to note are:
- Don’t download any app outside of your phone’s official app store
- Do not click on suspicious URLs sent through messaging services
- Do not ‘jailbreak’ your phone
- Update your apps as often as possible to avoid security holes in out-of-date versions.
2) Beware of calls you receive on WhatsApp
If you’re a user of BigPay, chances are that you have received a call from “BigPay” on WhatsApp, requesting your personal details and OTP. This is a scam. Do not disclose any information! (Of course, this also begs the question of BigPay’s security, which is a giant red flag.)
Nonetheless, BigPay scams are not the only ones around, they are just the most common at the moment. Just remember that no financial institution or online commerce portal is going to call you on WhatsApp, especially not to request your OTP!
3) Beware of callers who claim to be from the authorities, then try to scare you
There’s this neat little trick that scammers like to play. They pretend to be from the authorities and throw around words like “legal action”, “mahkamah tinggi”, or “investigation” to panic the victim enough that the latter forgets to think. The victim then proceeds to do whatever is asked of them to “stay out of trouble”. Scared victim + not thinking = successful scam.
Sometimes, the scammers use an automated voice to sound credible.
If you find yourself on the receiving end of this technique, just hang up the phone.
4) Beware of callers who instruct you to transfer money into a specific account
The modus operandi of the Macau scam is to trick victims into transferring their hard-earned money into a designated account. The scammer might claim that the victim’s bank account is related to drug or money laundering activities. Some others allege that the victim was behind on credit card payments, and should therefore immediately transfer their money out of their account to avoid getting blacklisted. The scammers’ end goal is to have the victim’s money in an account that they control.
Needless to say, the money won’t stay in that account.
5) Beware of giving out your TAC/OTP
Never, ever give out your TAC or OTP. Sometimes, scammers entice you with the promise of cash vouchers or money—all you have to do is tell them your TAC/OTP.
Don’t do it. Don’t give them the keys to the kingdom.
Recently, a scammer (he was obviously a scammer) called me on WhatsApp, promising me Shopee vouchers worth RM888. All I had to do was give him my TAC. So I told him it was “1-2-3-4-5-6”.
He called me a “pelacur”.
Chow Ping Lee is a content writer under Headliner by Newswav, a programme where content creators get to tell their unique stories through articles and at the same time monetize their content within the Newswav app.
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