Bank Negara: SMS scams tied to unauthorised withdrawals
Unauthorised bank withdrawals are mostly caused by SMS scams which inform victims they have won cash prizes, says Bank Negara Malaysia.
The central bank said it received 165 complaints last year on illegal withdrawals, all of which were due to customers knowingly or unknowingly divulging personal information such as their personal identification number (PIN) and password to third parties or fraudsters.
“Banks will never request for such personal information through e-mail, SMS or phone calls,” Bank Negara said in a statement yesterday.
It urged the public not to respond to any SMS or e-mail requesting personal information for banking accounts.
“In most cases, victims of unauthorised withdrawals receive an unidentified SMS to inform them they have won a cash prize and that they have to open an Internet banking account to claim it.
“The victim then contacts the fraudster, who provides a step-by-step guide on how to register and activate their Internet banking account using the ATM terminal,” the statement said.
Upon registering at the ATM terminal, the victim would be given an Internet banking PIN number which the fraudster would ask for to create the online banking account.
Bank Negara said the victim would then be asked to register the fraudster’s handphone number to obtain an authorisation code to enable transfer of funds via Internet banking.
“This will result in the authorisation code being sent via SMS directly to the fraudster’s handphone. The victim has unknowingly provided the fraudster with full access to their banking account,” Bank Negara said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Kong Cho Ha said the claim by Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Senator T. Murugiah’s that funds from bank accounts had been siphoned off monthly to Indonesia should be backed by evidence.
“You can’t just make a claim without proof. You need to show evidence that such a thing is in fact happening,” he told reporters yesterday.
On Friday, Murugiah claimed that funds from some 60 to 70 bank accounts were being siphoned off and raised the fear that bank insiders were working together with fraudsters.
Kong said no police report had been lodged by the victims so far.
- The Star
The central bank said it received 165 complaints last year on illegal withdrawals, all of which were due to customers knowingly or unknowingly divulging personal information such as their personal identification number (PIN) and password to third parties or fraudsters.
“Banks will never request for such personal information through e-mail, SMS or phone calls,” Bank Negara said in a statement yesterday.
It urged the public not to respond to any SMS or e-mail requesting personal information for banking accounts.
“In most cases, victims of unauthorised withdrawals receive an unidentified SMS to inform them they have won a cash prize and that they have to open an Internet banking account to claim it.
“The victim then contacts the fraudster, who provides a step-by-step guide on how to register and activate their Internet banking account using the ATM terminal,” the statement said.
Upon registering at the ATM terminal, the victim would be given an Internet banking PIN number which the fraudster would ask for to create the online banking account.
Bank Negara said the victim would then be asked to register the fraudster’s handphone number to obtain an authorisation code to enable transfer of funds via Internet banking.
“This will result in the authorisation code being sent via SMS directly to the fraudster’s handphone. The victim has unknowingly provided the fraudster with full access to their banking account,” Bank Negara said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Kong Cho Ha said the claim by Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Senator T. Murugiah’s that funds from bank accounts had been siphoned off monthly to Indonesia should be backed by evidence.
“You can’t just make a claim without proof. You need to show evidence that such a thing is in fact happening,” he told reporters yesterday.
On Friday, Murugiah claimed that funds from some 60 to 70 bank accounts were being siphoned off and raised the fear that bank insiders were working together with fraudsters.
Kong said no police report had been lodged by the victims so far.
- The Star
MOHD ADHA MOHD ZAIN (ADHA ZAIN)
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