Banks warn about scammers who impersonate NSRC officers

BANKS under the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) and the Association of Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM) today called for heightened vigilance against scams involving the impersonation of National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) officers.

In a statement, they noted a growing number of such scams targeting bank customers.

In such scenarios, the banks said the fraudster would pose as an NSRC officer and attempt to scare unsuspecting victims by alleging that their personal information, such as national registration identity card (NRIC) number or mobile number, is linked to illegal or fraudulent activities.

“The scam begins with the victim receiving a call from an unknown mobile number, alleging to be an NSRC officer.

“The fraudster would then falsely claim that the victim’s identity or personal particulars have been used in criminal activities, such as money laundering and mule account transactions.

“Then, the fraudster employs lengthy ‘interrogation’ tactics mimicking a real investigation, to establish a sense of legitimacy which involves repeated phone calls over a prolonged period of time,” read the statement.

Finally, after gaining the victim’s trust, the banks said the fraudster would ask the victim to leave their debit/ATM card at a designated location. 

This allows the fraudster to access the victim’s online banking account to make unauthorised transfers and bill payments, and make unauthorised cash withdrawals at the ATM using the victim’s bank card.

“If the victim does not have an existing online banking facility, the fraudster could even register for one,” added the banks. – May 14, 2024